The Blind Shaman
by Anya Maygo
Summary: This is actually a tad closer to the TV show than to the manga, but as the characters are the same, there's no problem. I'd been toying with this idea for some time, and now here it is! I DON'T OWN THE SHOW OR THE CHARACTERS!
1. It All Begins

_**It All Begins…**_

* * *

My name is Aiko. I come from the Yokamaru family, a long line of shamans who are proud of their family's age.

I am also blind, and have been since birth. My parents were very stressed out about this until my brother Ryu was born, and could see.

I was always able to hear more than they thought I could, though, and I found ways to work around my inability. I'm an amazing cook, Ryu's said that more than once; and I can sew straight and embroider pictures. My parents praise me for every mundane task I accomplish.

There is one thing I haven't told them, though: I want to be a shaman like they were, fighting-capable and integrating with the spirits my parents have bound to our service. I know I can hear them, and know that I'm talking to a ghost by the vague echo that comes with their voices. I work out with Ryu every day in our gym, and I'm stronger than he is. I know full well that that will change once he hits puberty, but for now, I am content with my lot.

* * *

Then, one day – I don't normally keep track of days, since I can't see calendars – Mother and Father called me in to speak with me. I wasn't sure at first what the big deal was. Maybe they were going to give me one of the ghosts that belonged to them? They've let me hold the memorial tablets, told me what the carvings on each of them meant, and that one of them was to be mine when I came of age.

"Aiko, we both believe you are old enough to understand when we tell you this," Mother said once I sat down.

_Of course, since I'm fourteen; go on._

"You will be leaving tomorrow, to live with the Tao family."

I stared straight ahead, too shocked to speak for a minute. Then I asked, "Why?"

Father answered that one. "We've arranged a marriage for you with their son, and you need to live with them until you're both of the right age to marry. We will give you one of the family spirits to take with you."

_I've got a fiancée? I'm – they don't think I can be a fighting shaman! They think all I'm suited for is being a wife! No wonder they praised me so much over the cooking and sewing I've been able to do!_

"Okay. I'll go pack now." And with that, I stood up and left the room. _Protesting won't do me any good. I might as well act willing. I think I'll still pack; pack to run away, that is._

I stopped outside the door, though. What were they going to say?

It didn't take long before they started talking.

Father: "She accepted that better than I thought she would."

Mother: "Yes. The Tao family would welcome a quiet, obedient girl for their daughter-in-law." She didn't sound too certain, though. Her next words confirmed it: "Though she'd be welcomed far more warmly if she'd show some of her usual fire."

_That does it! I've had it with this patronizing attitude!_

I ran to my room, narrowly avoiding several collisions, and threw some things into a blanket. Then I tied it all together and summoned a nature spirit. "I need you to write a note for me to leave for my parents. I will tell you what to say."

I heard a high-pitched, echoing chatter, and some rustlings of paper. Well, I hadn't specified speech in my summoning.

"Ready?"

A squeak answered me.

"Good. Here's what you should write: 'I'm sorry to leave you like this, but…" _I'm not actually against an arranged marriage, since I can't see my fiancée, but… _"I want to be worthy of the Tao family, who are predominately fighters.' Is there anything coming I should know about?" I asked, dropping my speech-voice so that it knew I didn't want it to write this down.

I heard a slow echoing rustle.

"Yes or no will suffice."

The answer was a squeak, it's determined 'yes.'

"Okay, then I won't finish the note yet. I'll call you again when I find out how to end that."

I heard a chatter of assent, and then a rush of wind. Then I got changed for bed and went to sleep.

* * *

I woke up sometime during the night. I couldn't quite say what woke me up, save that it was something I felt. It was like…like something was calling me, awakening some kind of hunger for the unknown. No strange feeling to me, but now I felt like acting on it. I even felt like it had a name: Shaman Fight!

I got dressed and summoned the nature spirit again. "Here's how I want the note ended: 'My opportunity to prove myself worthy of the Tao family has come, in the Shaman Fight. Therefore, I shall take the spirit you have promised me and go find my fortune. Your daughter, Aiko.' Put that on their nightstand."

I heard a swish as it left. Then I slipped out with my pack, found the cupboard that had the two memorial tablets in it and carefully ran my fingers across each one, "reading" the names. In the end, I chose Maia. I knew she could fight, or Mother wouldn't have her as her guardian.

Then, quietly, I slipped out of the house. "Goodbye, my family. You cared for me as best you could. But I'm afraid I just can't live with being thought of as a handicapped person. I have to prove my worth – to the Taos, to you, and to myself."


	2. Qualifications

_**Qualifications**_

* * *

**Aiko**

"_Master Aiko, I don't disapprove of your plan of entering the Shaman Fight, but I will be more useful to you if I had a weapon,_" Maia said to me as we walked.

"Okay. What do you need?"

"_A fan. A tessen fan if you can manage it, but I can get by with any fan you can get a hold of._"

"Okay…just direct me into any store that sells such things and guide my hands to them."

We walked for another hour or two. Then Maia said, "_Stop, and turn left. There's a store with fans in the window._"

I obediently turned and went in. I already knew my ghost would end up being my eyes for reading, but any shaman watching me would probably think I was some kind of crazy, listening to my servant. Still, what good master doesn't?

I'm…not sure if she possessed me or not, but I know she directed me to the rack with the fans and guided my hand onto the one she wanted. I grabbed two of them, in case I lost one. (I know, most kids my age wouldn't think ahead like I do, but being blind made me grow up a little faster.)

* * *

I spent the rest of the day practicing with Maia and those two fans. This consisted of my holding the fans and moving in different actions, and Maia coaching me, telling me how to alter my position, and praising me when I got a pose right. I memorized each pose and action, storing it away for whenever I needed it.

When it got dark – I am so glad I can see light! – I lay back and waited. What for, I don't know. But after about an hour, I heard some gust of wind that didn't fit the night's pattern.

Sitting up, I protested, "All right, I know you're out there. It's only fair to warn you, I'm not alone!"

A man's laugh reached my ears. "You're a bold one." He had a patient voice, and sounded like he'd be about my father's age, maybe a tad older. I also heard footsteps. The exact sound I'd heard, and what I'd felt, was a solid thump, followed by typical footsteps. He must have vaulted from a tree, and known exactly how to land. "Do you know why I'm here, Yokamaru Aiko?"

I didn't bother asking how he knew my name. Instead, I answered, "You're here to test me, and find out if I'm worthy of entering the Shaman Fight."

"Very good. What you need to do is very simple: you must land a hit on me."

I calmly noted that what he'd said was "simple," not "easy."

"Prepare yourself."

I called Maia into my hand and, in one smooth motion Mother would have been proud of, integrated. All of a sudden, I could see! Okay, I couldn't see clearly: it was more like I could see the spirit essence of everything around me, and namely on my tester. He had about two different ghosts on him – wait…they were _around_ him, not _on_ him. What could that mean?

Only one way to find out. I lunged at him, my fans moving into an intricate pattern I'd only just learned. My point at this moment wasn't to hit him: it was to figure out what was happening with his ghosts.

At point-blank range, he suddenly took flight! I fell down and rolled onto my back, staring up at him. One of his ghosts had taken on the form of wings!

"It's called furyoku. I'll be this nice to you, as you can't actually see me, and tell you how it works," he explained as he landed where I'd started, "it's when a spirit integrates, not with the shaman, but with the object that symbolizes the being itself."

_Object that symbolizes the being?_

"This is a difficult thing for a human spirit to accomplish, for they generally have only one shape: their own. But it can be done."

_Hmmm…_

I separated from Maia and stood up slowly, adjusting to the lack of 'seeing.'

"_What are you going to do, Master?_" Maia asked.

"Wait…I've almost got something."

I heard a laugh that sounded like an eagle's cry. "I doubt she'll get it. She's only a blind, helpless little girl."

_Only a – _well_! I'll show that overweening turkey!_ "Maia! Integrate!"

My rage hadn't taken over me. Maia also wasn't integrating with me.

One fan fell to the ground, almost unnoticed. The other grew into a remarkable size, taking both hands to hold. I turned with the fan closed, opened it behind me while still pointing myself towards him, and brought it down hard towards the ground with a jump. The resulting wind blew me towards him, and I lifted the fan up, bringing it around with all my energy behind it.

"_**I AM NOT HELPLESS!!!**_" I screamed.

I don't really remember what happened next. I know I hit the ground, too tired to stand.

Then I heard soft clapping, from somewhere closer to my level. "Congratulations. You pass the test. You really ought to name your fans, as it makes a merge pass smoother."

"Did…did I knock you down?" I asked, smiling faintly.

I almost felt the smile. "Yes. Here, this is yours." Something slid onto my left wrist. "It's like a pager, allowing the Great Spirit to communicate with you and tell you your assignments. You will have to fight three times against different shamans; winning twice will qualify you for the Shaman Fight. Your ghost will have to read the instructions to you, as there wasn't a design that allowed it to speak."

"I understand," Maia answered him.

"And now, Little Bat," he teased, as he stood, helped me to my feet, and gave me my other fan, "good luck." And I felt him walk away.

I rolled my eyes, but appreciated the thought. Then I put away my fans, lifted my wrist, and asked, "All right, Maia: who do I fight first?"


	3. Off to America!

_**Off to America!**_

* * *

**Aiko**

"Haa!" I knocked my final opponent flat with one swipe. Staggering back, I wiped my forehead. The furyoku method of integration was harder than just letting Maia use my body. For one thing, I couldn't see at all while doing that. By then, I'd figured out why I could see at all while integrated: it was because in life, Maia could see.

"_Are you all right, Aiko?_" Maia asked.

"Yeah, I'm good." I held out my wrist at the bell-chime. "Okay, what's next?"

I felt a feather-light touch on my hand and waited.

"_It says, 'You now must proceed to America, and find Dobi Village within a month.'_"

"Dobi Village? I've never heard of it."

"_Neither have I._"

I thought about that. "Well," I finally said, "the first thing to do is to get air fare to America."

* * *

That was the easiest thing to do. Maia helped me get a plane ticket, and made sure I got on the right plane. I must confess that I spent most of it asleep.

My dreams were awfully strange, though. Thanks to integration, all my dreams had very hazy images now.

* * *

**A/N: I know, kind of short. But frankly, not much happens until she gets to America.**


	4. Sudden Friendships

**_Sudden Friendship_**

* * *

**Aiko**

I listened to the drone of the airport as I stepped out. That had been the first time I'd ever flown on a plane, and frankly, I thought it was very interesting.

_Well, so much for the easy part. Now I have to find Dobi Village in under a month. Maybe I should try to find someone else searching for the same place?..._

* * *

I wandered around town, listening to the conversation. No mention of Dobi Village whatsoever. "Well," I finally said, "I suppose even if this is all just a wid-goose-chase, I can still be a tourist."

Then I heard something that didn't fit with typical-city-street patterns: a battle cry. Curiosity won over prudence, and I went to see what it was.

* * *

**Yoh**

Lyserg didn't get the message that I wasn't going to help him with revenge.

"What are you going to do about him?" Ryo asked Yoh.

"Ignore him."

Lyserg didn't allow that. So, I was forced to actually fight him, and I ended up knocking him down, shattering his weapon.

"You weren't fighting me," I told him, "you were fighting the memory of what happened to your family, and that's a fight you'll never win!"

Lyserg was still on a one-track spiel, until I hit him and explained what was going on. I wrapped up with "Just ask Len."

I let that sink in for a minute. Then I asked, "Now, are you coming with us, or are you just gonna sit there feeling sorry for yourself?"

He didn't say anything, but he laughed a little and chased after us.

* * *

**Lyserg**

"Sounds like I missed quite the show!" a voice came from off to my right. Yoh and I all turned to see.

There was a girl standing there looking at us. Kind of pretty, I suppose, with her almost-violet hair falling over her face and a bag over her shoulder. Okay, she was very pretty, almost beautiful. She also had an oracle bell!

Yoh actually called her on the bell. "You're in the Shaman Fight?"

"Yeah, though I'm not sure how I'll be able to find Dobi Village in time. I'm kind of searching blind, after all."

I heard a female voice let out something like a snort. "_Searching blind, indeed!_" A Chinese geisha appeared next to her – her guardian ghost – and gave her a gentle shove. "_That's the worst pun you've made yet, Miss Aiko!_"

She grinned and shoved back. "Aw, go chase a cat or something."

I noticed Len's face, though. He seemed like he was trying to remember something.

"How was that a pun?" Tray asked. "I didn't notice anything funny."

"_I'm sorry,_" the ghost apologized, "_It wasn't what was said, it was who said it._"

"Drop it, Maia."

* * *

She waited with me in the lobby while everyone else went to get their injuries tended. It wasn't too long before they came back, with Tray needling Len about one of the nurses.

I almost left while just leaving a check for them to fill out, but Yoh stopped me and asked me to tell my story.

I got to the part where Zeke had killed my parents and then just left when Aiko made an observation. "It's interesting how your parents' killer stuck around long enough for you to see him. What point was he trying to make to you, I wonder?"

"Hey!" Tray yelled at her, "Who invited you along?"

She shrugged. "I invited myself along. I'm paying for my own food, so why are you worried?"

Ryo cut off any more argument. "Aw, let the lady stay! She did say she was paying for herself, after all, and she isn't doing any harm."

I finished my story. Yoh said I wasn't alone anymore, but then Len dragged Yoh outside to talk to him. Aiko cocked her head.

"Len sounds familiar for some reason."

"He's not exactly unobtrusive, with that hair of his," Ryo commented.

Tray started going on about what he was going to do to Zeke when he saw him, while I started thinking about Yoh. _Why did he look like Zeke when we were fighting?_

* * *

**Amidamaru**

Master Yoh was sure that even Zeke had his reasons for his deeds.

"And what about this girl who seems to have adopted you? What do you think her reasons are?"

"Hm…I can sense a great deal of power from her…but she seems to be lost most of the time. Did you notice how much she relies on her friend Maia, just to get around?"

"Yes. It makes me wonder."

"Plus, there's the way Len acts around her. Like she reminds him of someone, but he can't place who."

* * *

**Aiko**

It was pretty fun when we went to rescue Lyserg from the group of punks.

I remember a few of something coming my way, but with Maia in my fan, parrying was no problem.

"Is it just me," Ryo asked, "or was Len the first one on the scene?"

"Yep, just like I knew he would be," Yoh answered. "Len's not cold-blooded, he just likes everyone to think he is!"

"Yes I am, I'm very cold-blooded. My blood cells are ice cubes!"

"Suuure they are!" Tray answered with – I could imagine – a big grin.

I'm pretty sure Lyserg was the one to finish off the biggest spirit. He also pointed the way to someplace that could be Dobi Village. So we set off.

"I have to ask," Len asked me, not too kindly, "why are you still hanging around?"

"Two reasons. One, you people seem to have an idea on where you're going, and two, I can't read maps."

"_Try can't read at all, Miss Aiko._"

"I can read, Maia! Engravings are no problem for me!"

"_I'm not sure I understand,_" a different ghost commented.

I sighed. "I wasn't going to tell you guys, because I didn't want to be considered helpless."

I could feel the look I was getting from somebody. Because it was just a thoughtful look, I figured it was Yoh. Then he stopped in front of me, getting me to stop, and asked, "What color's my hair?"

_Bang. The one question I can't answer._ "How should I know?"

Tray yelled, "His hair's _brown_, can't you see that?!"

I grinned at him. "Not really, no."

That brought dead silence. Even the ghosts were quiet. Then…

"You're _blind?!?_" Tray and Ryo yelled at the same time.

"Hence the reason I didn't want to tell you guys."

Lyserg said, almost sounding sad, "Then you must be a weaker shaman than I am! I mean, how can you fight if you can't see?"

I sighed, my sightless eyes towards the sky searching for patience. "I'm not going to try to explain this to you. You figure it out. In the meantime, Len," I turned to him and heard him almost-jump, "just get used to my being here, for you're not going to lose me until Dobi Village."

"I didn't say anything!"

"You didn't have to. I can feel your burning resentment at being overruled from here."

* * *

**Len/Aiko**

_She/He reminds me of someone…_

_But who?_

* * *

**A/N: This is definitely a spoof from episodes 27 and 28. I DON'T OWN THE SHOW!!! Plus, you all probably already know why Aiko and Len each think the other's familiar - the last time they saw each other, relatively speaking where Aiko's concerned, they were very different, so they don't recognize each other. Don't worry, they'll get it! Eventually... :)**


	5. Revelations

**_Revelations_**

* * *

**Aiko**

As we set off again in the back of a truck, I settled back and listened to Trey being a general pain. He'd seemed to forget either that I was there or that I was a girl, for he asked who everyone had the "hubbas" for, and proceeded to tease Len just because Len happened to remember one girl's name.

"Lyserg," I asked, "could you hit Trey up the side of the head for me? You're closer."

That distracted them for a second. "How do you know he's closer?"

"I don't. I was guessing."

The boys got into some other argument and I tuned them out. Well…not completely…I was still listening to Len.

Then it hit me – the possible explanation for why he seemed familiar. I sat up. "Len?"

"Yes, Aiko?"

"What's your last name?"

I could imagine the shocked expression, followed by a smile. "Of course you don't know. It's Tao."

_Tao! That's why he seems so familiar – it's not like I've never met my fiancée, but his voice has changed!_ "Oh. Thank you."

* * *

**Len**

I watched her face as she settled back again. Long purple hair, pale skin, and pale blue eyes…where had I seen that face before?

"And what might yours be?"

"Mine?" Her expression went from certain to almost coy. "It's Yokamaru."

I stared at her. _Yokamaru? My _fiancée_ of the Yokamarus?_ That was when my memory chose to reveal itself to my consciousness: a little girl my height, setting her hands gently against my face and chest, and walking all around me with one hand tracing along my back to "get a picture of what I looked like." _What's she doing here?_

"Yokamaru?" Yoh repeated. "That's a shaman line that's almost as old as the Asakuras!" He sounded impressed.

"And…what are you doing all the way out here, exactly?" I did my best to control my voice so it wouldn't shake with my attempt to contain my emotion.

Trey and Yoh didn't notice, but Aiko did; she cocked her head before answering, almost carefully. "I couldn't stand being treated like I was helpless." She cocked an eyebrow at me. For being blind, she certainly knew how to send a silent message with her face. That quirk was asking, "What emotion are you holding back?"

"Oh." I tried to put my answer into my tone, because I didn't want to answer her aloud: _I'm not sure._

* * *

After some time wandering around alone without our ride, we ended up waiting by the side of the road for him to show up again.

"Len? Can I talk to you somewhere where we won't be overheard?"

"Ah…" I glanced around. We _were _just outside a forest…

Yoh spoke up. "We'll wait here."

"Thank you." I took hold of her arm and pulled her along until we were a little ways into the trees. _What will she say to me about this betrothal? Is she going to end up as demanding as Anna?_ "All right, talk."

She looked up at me and cocked an eyebrow. "I'm sure you're not overly happy with being betrothed to a blind girl."

"Ah…" Well, what was there to say to that? She wasn't exactly wrong...

"I wasn't sure I wanted to be betrothed to someone who thought I would be a burden. So what I want to suggest is this: we carry on through the Shaman Fight as if we aren't connected in any way, and see who else there is in America, as well as watch each other's performances, so to speak. Then, after the Shaman Fight, we decide if we truly want to follow through with this betrothal." And she held out her hand.

_That's it? She's not going to impose anything on me?_ "Well…all right."

With that, I shook her hand – she was able to return my grip really well! – and led her back to the others. "Very well then, let's go."

* * *

**Yoh**

We walked along the road for a while around midnight, pausing once to admire the stars.

"Look at all those stars!" Len said, sounding a little awestruck. "If only they could guide our way to Dobi Village!"

Aiko shrugged. "With me, when you've not-seen one star, you've not-seen them all. Don't regard me as a killjoy, though."

A truck gave us a lift, with an old couple offering us a place to stay for the night.

What a lucky break, even if they did seem a little strange!

* * *

**Aiko**

There are days when I really can't stand not being able to see. The food was delicious, but I really wanted to know more about where we were staying.

I ended up in a different guest room than the boys, which made me nervous. Now that I've gotten to know those boys a little more, it made me worry a little when I wasn't in the same room. Now…was I worried for _them…_or for _me?_

I heard a lot of ruckus coming from the boys' room. Something about baths helping a person get cleaner, pigs, and pigsties. Sheesh.

I lay out flat on the floor. "All right, spirits. I know you're out there. If you want to pick on a blind girl, go right ahead."

"_Miss Aiko, are you sure that's wise?_" Maia asked me.

"Hey, if it _is _a bunch of spirits, then they're more likely to be bored than anything else. At least their tricks are more humorous than menacing, by the sound of it."

I lay there for about a minute. Nothing happened, so I just got up and went to bed.

And jumped a mile! "Yowch!"

* * *

The morning brought a ghost story from our hosts, explaining how the whole town was haunted, and it was all because of the mine. "And whoever stops those monsters will be a hero in the town and can have all the gold they can carry."

Trey and Ryo flipped out over the word "gold," Lyserg got a bit impatient with them (and I could only agree), and the Sisterhood of the Travelling Shamans turned up. (I don't remember any names, except for the one Len could remember: Susan.)

We all went down into the mines together. The girls were complaining; figures.

"Yoh?" I asked. "Could you hold my hand? The echoes down here make it hard for me to pinpoint my location, or where anything is."

"Sure."

_Besides,_ I thought,_ there could end up with more happening down here than just thistles in my bed._

* * *

Well…we found something that apparently looked like gold. Though it was all evidently a trick.

Lyserg threw a fit at us for wanting to stay and find out the reason we were brought down here.

Yes, I included myself in that "us." I'd been against coming down here, but now that we _were _here, we might as well find out _why_.

Yoh pulled a great speech about how it wasn't just the destination, it was the journey. Then I heard a swish that wasn't a normal air pattern.

Apparently we were facing off against snow ogres that were throwing things, if Trey's trivia and Yoh's dragging me were anything to go by.

I ended up wobbling dreadfully off-balance when Yoh let go to fight by himself, but I integrated Maia with my fan and started trying to hit things I couldn't aim at.

And…getting hit by what felt and smelled like mud-balls.

By the time _that _fight was over, I laid a bet with myself that I was the muddiest of them all.

* * *

We got an explanation outside the cave. "_Your blind friend called it last night, we haven't had this much fun in years!_"

I grinned. "Nice to be right sometimes!"

Then Zeke showed up, destroyed some of the woodland spirits, and left.

We were given a warning by the remaining spirits, and then we set off down the road again.

"By the way, Aiko," Ryo suddenly remarked, "You've still got some mud on your, ah…"

Trey finished the sentence. "Everywhere, actually."

"To be honest?" I grinned at them. "I really can't tell."

Well, I earned a laugh. That's a wonderful way to end a day.

* * *

**A/N: Episodes 30 and 31 get credit.**


	6. Trouble Brewing

**_Trouble Brewing_**

* * *

**Aiko**

It was kind of fun, our helping replant a burned-out part of the forest. That boy, Allen, helped me to do it right. He even did a small carving job on my fans, so that I could connect them together into a bigger fan!

"Listen, Aiko," he asked when we were ready to leave, "would you mind…um…"

I guessed. His tone was easy to read. "You're wondering if I'd like to live with you in your forest?"

I could feel his blush from where I was standing. "Uh, yeah, that."

Smiling sadly, I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Allen. But the forest you love so much just isn't the place for a blind girl. I can't appreciate its beauty. We can be friends, but that's all."

He took that well, and called a goodbye after us as we left.

"Well, that was a bit of a letdown for you," Len remarked, somehow sounding, oh, I don't know…snide.

"More of one for him," I retorted.

* * *

Soon we ended up waiting at a bus stop. For two hours straight, if Trey was right. At least I used one hour of that to run my hands over each of their faces so that I could get a sense of what they looked like. I even did that to Len, in order to hold up the illusion that I didn't know him.

Trey and Len got into an argument that almost ended in a fight. But then Lyserg sensed something.

Truth be told, I could almost hear it, too; something big was coming. Then we could all feel it!

"My name's Basil, and I'm one of Zeke's best shaman. I'm here to light a fire under your butts!"

"Hm," I said to myself, "he sounds like a snobbish schoolboy."

His ghost was clearly bigger than all of us, for his voice was coming from high up. It wasn't funny once he said he would eliminate Yoh's friends, which obviously included me.

I cocked my head towards the others. "Guys, I can't see him. If anyone in our group wins the 'most likely to be eliminated today' prize, it's me!"

When we ended up dodging, Len had grabbed my wrist to help me out.

"Hey, Len," Yoh almost laughed, "he kind of reminds me of your uncle!"

"And he will meet the same fate!"

I idly wondered what happened to Len's uncle as Len passed me off to Yoh and rushed off to battle.

Then some big guys surrounded me and Yoh, at least as my ears told me! They seemed to have some oblique notion of protecting Yoh, and me only by proxy.

Yoh tried to get out, and got knocked flat!

"How tall _are_ these guys?" I protested.

"They're taller than me," he told me, "and they're standing on each other's shoulders when I try to jump over them!"

Then Basil dropped a bombshell: Yoh was Zeke's descendant!

"Well, I guess that explains why we look alike."

I turned towards him. "If he wasn't so dangerous, I'd ask Zeke if I could touch _his_ face when he next shows up, because I still don't know that! He doesn't sound like you."

I could hear only chaos outside the circle. Yoh started thrashing around inside the circle trying to get out.

Then I pulled out my fans and "looked" at them. "Yoh, stop wasting your furyoku! I have an idea."

I connected my fans together and integrated Maia with them. _If my _one_ fan gets too big to hold with one hand when I do this…then two fans together should be big enough…_

* * *

**Yoh**

Her two fans together got so big, she couldn't lift them! But then they floated off the ground in a large disk!

She leaped on, holding onto the edges. "Yoh, get on! Let's save your strength for Basil!"

Well, that was as good an idea as any. I got on. "You have a plan, right?"

She grinned nervously at me. "Sure: hold onto your lunch!"

We started spinning! Really, really fast! Then we blasted into the Steel Circle…

And got out!

In my dizzy view, I noticed Basil's guardian ghost. "Maia, we're going the wrong way! Veer right!"

She circled around and started spinning that direction. "_I can see, you know. Still, where should I go next?_"

"You can see? Super! Angle up!"

We cut everyone down from Basil's ghost and settled in their midst.

Aiko, who hadn't stopped screaming the whole time we were flying, collapsed as her furyoku stopped. "Hey, next time I say, 'Hey, let's go flying on my fans!', remind me I. Hate. Flying."

We ended up having to dodge a few more times –with Ryo carrying Aiko, who was still too dizzy to move – and then I figured out the secret of Basil's ghost: it could regenerate from the ground!

* * *

**Aiko**

By my ears, it didn't take long for the ghost to get defeated. My body was still waiting for the ground to stop moving, though. That had been terrifying! I couldn't see anything, the only solid thing was the wooden sides of the fans in my hands, wind rushing around me and lifting me off the disk…only _insane_ people think that that's fun!

"Sooner or later, you're gonna run out of furyoku," Yoh told Basil as Ryo set me down. "While we have the combined furyoku of six shaman! You're never gonna beat us!"

"Is that so?"

He sounded like he had an ace up his sleeve. Or another ghost.

My ears were registering his blah, blah, blah; what was more important was the rush of air that signified something big coming at us.

Then an explosion went off!

"What's going on?" I screamed.

I heard someone new speak. Something about how evil must face the light of goodness. Also naming themselves as the X-Laws and inviting us to join them in eliminating Zeke.

Yoh startled me by yelling, "Enough!"

I was getting tired of that guy's voice anyway, but I wish he hadn't startled me – I squeaked like a mouse and jumped into Len!

He delivered a last "we will meet again" line and left.

"Who do they think they are?" Len asked nobody in particular while he helped me upright again.

Finally, we were able to ride on the bus. Neither Ryo nor Trey knew who to believe anymore, but Lyserg believed the X-Laws. Yoh and Len were silent, though I guessed that they didn't believe the X-Laws.

I was quiet. _X-Laws? Yoh's Zeke's descendant? There's just too much coming down on one little blind shaman. It's hard enough that I can't see my opponents…_

_Methinks I took up the wrong profession, but I can't stop now; I'm committed. I'll just have to keep fighting and hope it's enough._

* * *

**Zeke**

I looked up at the stars. Thanks to my connections, I knew that the X-Laws were after Yoh. I also knew about his friends, namely that blind fiancee of Len's. She had expressed a wish to 'see' me in her own way, right after Basil told them of my relation to Yoh.

_Well, maybe when I see her, I will let her. Until then…her disability could slow Yoh down. Maybe I ought to let her 'see' me right before I eliminate her._

* * *

**A/N: Episodes 32 and 33 get credit.**


	7. XLaws

**_X-Laws_**

* * *

**Aiko**

"Ah, what wonderful blue skies!" Ryo proclaimed from the back of the hay wagon that was giving us a lift. "It almost makes you forget about those X-Laws, doesn't it Trey?"

"Are you kidding? Nothing can make me forget about what the X-Laws did to Basil!"

Silence reigned for a minute. They'd finally told me what had happened to Basil, about an hour ago.

Then Len snapped at Trey, Trey snapped back, Ryo tried to calm them down and suddenly directed their attention to Lyserg.

"I'm worried about him; he hasn't spoken since we met up with the X-Laws."

After a few minutes more of silence – ah, blessed silence! A friend I've rarely heard from since joining Len and his friends – I heard rushing water.

They were identified as hot springs by Len, and Ryo described them on the map as big tourist attractions.

Amazingly, we all decided to go! Well…Ryo said we should go see them, Yoh agreed, and even Lyserg did, so that sealed the deal!

We got to Ryo's big described theme park, and I spent the time holding onto Ryo's hand. I'd already explained to the group that I was mainly having them lead me around because I wanted to save using my own skills for Dobi Village. Yoh had seen the sense in that, and had even chosen to seal that by leading me around for that hour, and I'd been passed around among the guys ever since.

Len was getting irritated, and I was…confused. "What's there to do around here, exactly?"

Before anyone could answer the question, Ryo got tempted to stay here, Len yelled at him, and Yoh told him that he needed to relax.

"I am very relaxed! Don't I seem very, very relaxed?"

"Um…do you want me to answer that?" I asked.

"Yeah, you seem very stress-free," Yoh answered. "That's why we're only staying one night."

As we walked, I heard a female voice a little ways away, but only the beginning of her sentence: "Six shaman!"

_Huh?_

* * *

I was in a different hot spring than the boys, as seemed typical. Not that I minded, but I kind of wondered what sort of insanity they would end up saying while I wasn't there. You know, like back at the village with the mine, when those nature spirits were playing jokes on us. I missed out on a lot of crazy-fun stuff then.

* * *

**Yoh**

"Well…" I thought about what both Ryo and Lyserg said. Ryo had suggested we split up to try to cover more ground in finding Dobi Village, and Lyserg had suggested we put off finding Dobi Village and all join up with the X-Laws. "I don't agree. We don't just go around destroying people like the X-Laws. And about splitting up…I say we all stick together. We've gotten this far by watching each other's backs! And besides, we shouldn't talk about future plans when Aiko's not here: she's got a say in this, too, you know."

* * *

**Aiko**

I'd tuned myself in with the world to listen to what the wind had to say. That only really worked when I was relaxed, and well, I was definitely relaxed!

"_Are they all still together?_"

"_Most of them, yes. The girl is by herself._"

"_Then we'll have to lure them off one by one and destroy them!_"

_Maybe I should warn the others?_

* * *

Later, we were in the game room. Ryo and Trey were duking it out at ping-pong, and Yoh was thrilled with the massage chair. I'd mentioned the female voices and what they'd said, but they all had just dismissed it as imaginings.

Well…all but Len. "Are you absolutely sure that's what you heard?"

"Yes. My hearing extends far when I'm relaxed, and this was while I was in the hot springs."

* * *

That night, as my hearing went, was…interesting.

I couldn't be fooled by that ghost, purely because my desires were extremely vague: someone who would see me, not as handicapped, but capable.

In the end, what we found out was that it was a ghost being controled by a thief. Yoh thanked the ladies that saved Lyserg, and said that he'd gotten a chance to be something he'd only dreamed of.

"What's that?"

"Anna's boss!"

As we went back to our rooms, I asked, "Who's Anna?"

Len answered me. "Yoh's fiancee. She's the sternest girl I have ever met."

"Oh." _That explains it._

* * *

In the morning, they all explained to me what had happened to each of them. The chameleon ghost had turned itself into Lyserg to try to catch Ryo, and he'd bored it into leaving. It had also turned into Anna to try to catch Yoh, but…he was able to boss it around.

When the girls had tried to catch Trey or Len, it hadn't worked. Trey because he slept through his guardian ghost icing them off, and Len because…he's Len. Thanks to me, and to his own survival instincts, he'd actually caught them outside his window and scared them off!

I could just imagine it.

* * *

Our next stop, evidently, was like a ghost town. Ryo ran off to watch moving pictures, which I didn't understand. Did he think this was a vacation?

I actually heard Ryo yell, though, and I doubted that the scary movie would be _that_ scary to a shaman.

When we got there, Trey identified something on Ryo as a fang-bite. Evidently, Ryo was unconscious. Trey also guessed that a vampire had attacked Ryo.

"There's no such thing as vampires," Len declared, "everyone knows that!"

"Yeah," Yoh retorted, "like there's no such thing as ghosts!"

He had a point…

Then Amidamaru and Bason came back with Tokageroh. The way he was babbling, I guessed they were dragging him. He was saying something about a bloodthirsty creature.

Len guessed it was a shaman, courtesy of Zeke, who caught Ryo off guard. Tokageroh didn't think so. Said that the vampire-person disappeared like fog.

Then two of the "Lees," as Yoh called them, came in to warn us. Then one of them declared Trey's vampire guess wrong. "Because everyone knows that vampires only attack innocent maidens, not wanna-be biker dudes like him!"

Ryo got up, was clearly not okay, and ended up getting frozen solid by Trey. In another room, Lyserg mentioned that all the stories about vampires were different, but that the two consistent things were that vampires drank blood and that a human bitten by a vampire became one for good.

"Whoa, hold on," Yoh interrupted. "Does this mean we're gonna have to drive a stake through Ryo's heart?"

"I will happily volunteer myself for the duty," Len stated.

Some strange guy started telling a pretty random story from a long time ago. But then he mentioned a vampire lurking in the shadows of this town.

"Oh that's just great!" Trey protested. "Evil lurking in the shadows? By morning tomorrow, we're all gonna be vampires!"

Did…those girls really have to mention the X-Laws? My day was bad enough already from everybody's stupidity...

I rolled my eyes. "Is this going to be another protect-the-blind-girl day? There are some things I can't hear, you know."

"Really?" That diverted the others for a second.

"Really. For instance…sorry to use this one, but I never heard Ryo get up. I didn't hear him until he was in the middle of attacking."

"Um…really?" Trey sounded like he wanted me to say I was kidding.

"There are ways to move silently. I can use them all, but I can't hear any of them. Usually, they involve either moving slowly or stepping lightly, or both. And I do believe, though I haven't read any books or heard a lot of stories, that vampires can move just as quietly as I can."

Len set an arm over my shoulders. "Well then, I suppose this _is_ going to be another 'protect the blind girl' day. You won't have anything to worry about with us."

I just laughed a little.

* * *

Len and Yoh got into a conversation after that while they were watching Ryo. Something about whether or not the X-Laws could help Ryo.

Then Lyserg and Trey went to take the next watch. I wasn't taking part in this, because another thing I couldn't hear was ice melting, and the point was to make sure Ryo didn't get out.

Screams. Somehow, Ryo had gotten out of the ice and bitten Trey. I stayed in the other room as the others went to check.

"Oh great," Yoh protested, "now Trey's vampire?"

Lyserg came back in time to save Milly and what's-her-name-ly from Trey, but something was wrong. I could read it in his silence and in everyone elses' words.

I heard Trey's yell…then there was sound-wave-chaos in the room for an instant. Ryo wanted to know what was going on, and to be honest, so did I. I'd finally come out.

Len snapped a few orders, one of which was for some guy to take us girls somewhere safe.

"I'm staying right here," I snapped back. "I'm not about to follow somebody I don't know!"

"Then stay here, but stay close to me!"

Well, Len is the most dangerous of all of us on a regular basis. I walked over in his direction.

"_Turn right, Miss Aiko. Trey is bound by Tokageroh right in your path._"

I walked around him and got to Len, looping my arm through his.

If what Lyserg was saying was anything to go by, he'd just gotten another level of X-brainwashing. Recently.

* * *

Yoh, Len and I went to find the vampire.

My ears told me that we were underground, that Milly and that other girl were here, in trouble, and that creepy-guy and the vampire were both here, with the vampire turning on his partner.

"Aiko," Len looked at me, "you were right not to trust him."

"Nice to be right. But remind me to be _wrong_ next time?"

Boris talked a little, and then Len reminded me that he had a sense of humor.

Called it a couple hours ago; I didn't even hear Boris move, and yet Len was trembling under my grasp as if the vampire was right in front of us.

If the sounds around me were anything to go by, Lyserg was turned into a vampire!

…Why wasn't I more scared?

Ryo and Trey showed up and helped save Milly, and then Boris ran off. We all chased after him, with me hanging onto Trey's wrist and Yoh carrying Lyserg.

Then Len proclaimed himself right: this guy was a shaman who was putting his guardian ghost inside his victims to control them.

_Oh. _That's_ why I wasn't more scared of this guy._

Of course, that still left Lyserg under his control, and he kidnapped Yoh!

…I don't know why everyone else stopped at Boris' control, but I kept walking forward.

"Didn't you hear me? One more step, and you could get impaled!" Boris snapped at me.

"You know what? It's funny, but it's awfully hard for me to be scared of something I can't see or hear."

"Oh, really? Then how about what you can feel?"

Then I felt a sharp point just graze the skin under my chin! That made me freeze.

Yoh seemed unworried by his predicament. I laid a bet with myself that that carefree attitude would get him bitten by somebody.

Lyserg started speaking! "You must…destroy me! It's the only way…"

Now my bet was that Yoh wouldn't do it.

He startled me, but he didn't mean what he said. Then he said he'd become Boris' servant to save us!

I don't know what happened, but I heard destruction behind me and fan-swiped the stake in front of me, just for good measure.

Boris yelled at his ghost, with his call of that he "had Yoh Asakura."

Yoh was joking around! He even asked how he'd done!

"Not bad," Len remarked.

Apparently, Amidamaru had caught Boris' guardian ghost inside Yoh.

Then Len slammed Boris. Hard.

"Uh, Len?" Yoh asked, "Don't you think that was a little…dramatic?"

"Would you expect anything less?"

His ghost…I couldn't pronounce his name, or spell it…well, he told us the full story. Then Boris ran off, and we followed when we heard his cry of anguish, with me grabbing onto Lyserg's arm.

"Let go!"

"I'm not stopping you! Just keep me from running into something!"

He let me hang onto his hand instead, so he could guide me easier.

Evidently, the X-Laws were there, ready to finish Boris off. Yoh got in the way and declared a kind of challenge, saying that he wasn't going to let them finish off the fake vampire.

Talking…talking…sooner or later, somebody was going to pull a trigger.

Then Yoh pushed the button. "If you destroy me just because I'm in your way, then you're just as bad as Zeke!"

They attacked with something big…and Boris' guardian ghost cried out in anguish.

"Um…would somebody explain what just happened?"

"Boris took the shot," Len said shortly. "He's gone."

The X-Laws started walking. Then Lyserg started following them, still hanging onto my hand!

"Lyserg, if you're going to follow them, fine, but let me make up my own mind!"

He let go.

He also said that he didn't trust Yoh anymore, right before he left for good.

* * *

Boris' guardian ghost went to the Netherworld to rescue his friend, thanking Yoh.

And then we set off again, with me wondering if I'd ever hear Lyserg's voice again. The longest conversation we'd ever had still played through my head:

"_Hey, Aiko? How can you be a shaman without being able to see?"_

"_Lyserg, a person's eyes can fool them or be misled. Since I can't see, there's no way I can end up helpless inside a smokescreen or blinded by a flash of light, or shrouded in darkness. It's always a good thing to learn how to move without being able to see, so that you can accommodate for those instances."_

"_Oh. Do you think you can teach me?"_

"_Of course."_

_He'd spent the whole day with a blindfold on, figuring out what he could find out by listening or feeling._

"_I let you spend the whole day with the blindfold this time because of your enthusiasm. But really, you're only supposed to use a blindfold for about an hour at a time, probably less because we're traveling."_

"_Okay."_

Would he remember to use the blindfold to keep training his sightless fighting skills while with the X-Laws?

"What are you thinking, Aiko?" Yoh asked me.

"I'm thinking…I need to find a second spirit to keep with me."

"_Why, Miss Aiko?_"

"Because, Maia, while using furyoku, you're inside my fans. That means you can't exactly help me see. That's been the hardest part of fighting so far: being unable to see spirit attacks coming at me. Ghosts can move way more quietly than humans. If I had a second spirit that I could integrate with while you were inside my fans, then I'd lose my disadvantage."

"That's a wonderful idea!" Ryo said, going completely false-cheerfulness. Then his tone wilted. "But where will you find another spirit on such short notice?"

I was about to answer when I thought I heard something: a faint mew. "Excuse me for a second?" I walked off the path and over to a couple of bushes (I could hear the wind blowing the leaves). Kneeling, I could hear one faint mew and one echoing, frantic yowling. "Maia, tell me what you see."

"_A mother cat and four kittens. Only one kitten is alive. The other three have moved on to the next life. I can't tell how the mother cat died, but she's clearly furious._"

"If I spoke to the mother cat, would it understand me?"

"_Yes. Cats have always been more sensitive to ghosts, and now that this one is a ghost itself, it can speak._"

I spoke quietly. "Hello. What's wrong?" I knew almost exactly what was wrong, but I wanted to get her attention.

Well, I had it. "_You can see me?_" The sense I got from "see" included sight and sound, so I could answer that.

"Yes. I'm a shaman; a link between this life and the next life. If you like, I can help you with your predicament, but you'll have to help me, too."

"_Let's hear your request._" She sounded wary.

"Well…how much longer would it have been before you'd have weaned your kits?"

"_Around a month._" She sounded aggravated now. I knew that sort of thing: so close to finishing a task, and then you were taken from it. Well, by the time a month was over, the tournament would be over, too.

"Well…I could take your body and the kit with me, and every day I could integrate your spirit back into your body so that you can feed your kit and keep taking care of it. I can't keep that up for very long because I never specifically learned this or killed you myself, but a little every day should be enough until it's ready to live without you. That's what I'd do for you. And what you'd do for me is…my path is dangerous. I do have a ghost with me that I use for fighting, but I can't see. If you integrated with me while my guardian ghost was integrated with my weapon, then I'd be able to see my enemy, and you can help me protect your kit."

She was silent for a minute. Then, "_Very well; I will join you._"

I buried the three small bodies, and then picked up the lifeless mother cat and the kitten and walked back over to my friends. They didn't question my new burden, or what I was doing when I integrated the mother cat with her body and held the two cats together.

I even gave names to the two cats: the mother cat became Kachina, and the baby – Kachina finally told me that it was a girl – became Velvet.

_Lyserg would _really_ not understand why I'm doing this. Well, he doesn't have to understand._

* * *

**A/N: Episodes 34 through 36 take credit. I added the second ghost to Aiko's arsenal for just the reason she said.**


	8. New Additions

**_New Additions_**

* * *

**Aiko**

It's amazing the stuff a person can miss out on when she can't see. And I wasn't at all sad to miss out on Ryo crying all over Len.

Then some guy who sounded like a twerp called us a cheerful group and asked if we could keep that mood.

We just walked past him, with Trey leading me.

Finally, the twerp told us he was looking for allies; well, only after Len threatened him with his kwan-dou.

Apparently, all the shamans were gathering in groups now.

The twerp introduced himself as Joco, of all things. I'm not kidding: that was his actual name.

We ignored him for a while longer, then finally seemed to be getting somewhere…when all at once he pulled Len's name out of nowhere.

Apparently, he knew about all of us - including me, the blind shaman. Then he got Ryo sad again by mentioning Lyserg.

I started tuning people out right around there. If they were going to let the dope join us, then I'd ask someone to show me what he looked like.

* * *

Then we ended up in a fight against some weird music guys who started firing cactus spikes! I couldn't listen to them, because the music was too loud!

Joco pointed out with an attack somebody who was really pulling the strings, though I chose to sit this one out. I…think he also pulled something that actually worked, before passing out. Something about a bad joke.

I lifted my hand. "Len, you're standing in front of him, right? Show him to me."

He grabbed my wrist and led it over to the guy's forehead.

Joco had poofy hair, goggles on his head, a round nose and big lips.

When he woke up, we let him join us.

I looked at Kachina. "Was…this a mistake?"

"_**Yes…no…I don't know. Mic is very handsome…**_"

_Never ask for information from a cat._

* * *

Well…Joco's information was useful…as far as it went without him trying to make jokes. At least Len thanked him for it.

We found an old medicine woman who helped us…at least, I _think_ it was help…it hurt like fury.

"Guys, you'll have to be my eyes for this – I won't be able to see these 'clues' you're hoping for."

"Don't worry, we've got you covered."

It was strange – I could hear lots of unusual things.

* * *

Yoh and the others were gluttons for punishment. I walked over to the medicine woman to stay out of the spirits' way and let them look for clues to Dobi Village. "I'll wait for them."

After a certain point, they ended up fighting the great spirit leaders, if that's what my ears said. The medicine woman led me outside so she could watch the fight. "They're still fighting?"

"Of course. Why give up, when survival is a human's nature?"

I…don't know what happened, but Yoh and the others won. The spirits gave us instructions to Dobi Village before they left.

_Let's see…go west, follow the red river canyon, and go through the black dust to the blue cave. I hope the others got the instructions better than I did, since I can't see our directions._

* * *

We set off for Dobi Village.

"So each of you got a commendation from the spirit chiefs; where does that leave me?"

I felt someone take my hand; it felt like it might possibly be Len. Then Len spoke to me. "We'll always need you: your eyes can't fool you, so you see more than most people. Wasn't that what you said to us when you first met us?"

"Yeah. I suppose it was." _Something like that, anyway._

* * *

I…think we're lost. Trey and someone else were arguing about the red river canyon.

Then we ran into the Lee sisters, Yoh gave them our directions, and they left us without a ride. Figures.

"Yoh?" I asked. "Has it occurred to you that you might be just a tad too trusting?"

He just laughed. "You know? A lot of people have asked me that; Len's one of them."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't trust just anyone, Yoh. I had to think carefully before I joined you."

_Okay, okay, I'll admit: I only had to "think carefully" about it for five seconds._

* * *

**Zeke**

I gave my servants their orders. "Finish what Basil started: destroy Yoh's friends. All, that is, except the girl; I will deal with her myself when the time comes. And if you find Anna, don't touch her. I'll deal with her myself as well."

* * *

**Aiko**

Yoh can't read maps. Then again, neither can I, so who's arguing?

Then we ended up having to dodge a falling knight! In what had gotten to be reflex, I caught up Kachina and integrated with her, and all at once, I could see.

There were three shaman women up on a ledge. Apparently, they were going to narrow the group down from six to two. _Huh? Wasn't _Yoh_ the one Zeke was interested in? Who's the other one?_

"Oh, and Zeke wants to deal with you personally, girlfriend."

That_ explains it._ "He won't get the chance."

I sensed someone get in front of me. "Leave her out of this!" Trey.

"Hey, they _were_, Trey; Zeke wanted to deal with me himself, so they were going to ignore me."

* * *

They tried to kick butt on those girls, including some great lines from Trey and Len:

"There! Try and reassemble that!"

"Indeed! Just try!"

Yes, it was in that order.

But nothing was working! I was flying on my fans, watching for an opening and not really finding one.

And…then those freaky girls started arguing about how they were going to finish my friends off!

_Um…they _do_ realize that we're still conscious, right?_

The boys were getting hammered, while I was getting deflected!

"Come on…" I muttered as I landed next to Yoh, "someone come bail us out!"

Yoh and I ended up the only ones standing, and he and I were parrying as many shots as we could.

"Yoh," I hissed, "how long can we keep this up?"

He didn't answer. I hadn't really expected one, especially not after we got knocked backward.

Then suddenly, right in the middle of their final attack, the girls' dolls and armor got smashed!

"Two things I always say," an unfamiliar female voice said from my right, "a lady should be fashionably late to a party if she wants to make a good entrance. And, she should know when it's time to take a hike."

The girl named that female as Anna, and then they just all left.

I caught a glimpse of her as I severed my integration with Kachina; her shamanic aura was strong.

* * *

The Lee sisters left – I'd barely known they were there – leaving several people I didn't know.

Ryo dragged me over to one person – a really short person, he nearly knocked me down – and introduced him to me as Morty. "Morty, this is Aiko. She is blind, so if you don't mind, the only way she can see you is to touch you."

I pulled my wrist free of his hand. "I do the asking, Ryo." Then I held my hand out to him. "What do you think, Morty?"

Silence met me at first. Then I felt a small hand grab hold of mine and set it against a head.

My fingers traced lightly over Morty's head. "You've got the biggest eyes I've ever encountered."

He giggled; I guess that's a bonus.

Then I was guided over to each of the others and introduced, as I gently touched their faces.

There was Anna, Yoh's fiancée. She had tracings of lines around her eyes like she always looked stern, and it didn't feel like she smiled much.

There was Faust, a doctor. His face was gaunt, he had bags under his eyes and lines of sorrow and desperation.

There was Jun, Len's sister, and her guardian puppet. I was impressed with the hulk of flesh she was working with.

And there was Tammy, a perky girl who was evidently part of Yoh's family somehow.

"I know you," Anna finally said.

"Really?" I kept my voice even as I walked back over to her and stopped just in front of her.

"You do realize that I will become Shaman Queen?"

"Yes. I have no ambition to become the Shaman Queen. I simply want to get as far as I can in this fight. If that ends up placing me in the position of queen, then so be it."

Morty vaguely sounded like he was strangling. Did he have something stuck in his throat, or was I doing something he considered unusually terrifying?

"Len won't be able to defeat Yoh."

All of a sudden, I knew where she was going with that.

"Aiko?" Trey asked. "Why does she think you care about that?"

Anna's attention turned away from me. "She didn't tell you? Len's her – "

My hand snapped up and covered her mouth.

I could almost hear jaws drop all around me. Apparently, Len's "She's the strictest girl I've ever met" was an understatement, and I'd just done something dangerous.

All I said to her, softly, was "I'm not ready to tell them yet. Up until now, it's stayed between Len and me."

She nodded slowly under my hand. Then she reached up, grabbed hold of my wrist, and pulled my hand down. "Nothing. Forget I said anything." Although I could sense the look she was giving me; it was saying, "We're not finished."

"So…" I cocked my head and stepped back a couple paces. "Why are you here?"

* * *

**A/N: Episodes 37-39 claim credit.**


	9. New Powers and New Discoveries

**_New Powers and New Discoveries_**

* * *

**Aiko**

Apparently, she'd come to give Yoh some book of Zeke's. Yoh had to memorize the book in order to become stronger, and she was going to put him through some special training course to do it.

Everyone else wanted to participate in this – everyone being Ryo, Trey, and Len, possibly Joco as well though he didn't say anything – and I shrugged. "I can't read, so there's no point in coming along."

After a minute of silence, I asked, "Maia, what just happened?"

"_**Lady Anna made a portal with her beads. …Now they have gone through.**_"

Anna had some alarming news about how there was a chance everyone who'd gone through would absorb Zeke's essence.

"Hm."

Anna's attention turned to me. "Now about our earlier talk…"

I wasn't ready to talk about Len just yet. I ran through the portal myself. "There might be something I can take in, after all!"

It was the strangest experience I'd ever had. I heard many unusual things, and I mostly heard Zeke talking to us. Mostly, it just flowed past me as noise, though some of it made sense. But what terrified and amazed me at the same time was the words that seemed to speak right into my mind to try to convince me to join him: "You could gain the sight you never had, and actually see the one you will marry."

I felt glad that I was able to come out of that without taking in any of Zeke's influence and able to survive the X-Law's attack. Later, I walked over to Len, covering my ears. "Will Ryo ever shut up?"

"I doubt it. People react differently to receiving an influx of power."

"So…how'd _you_ react?"

"That's none of your business. Why'd you follow us, anyway?"

"Um…because I didn't want to be left behind? If I'm staying with you boys, I need to be at my peak." Then it occurred to me: I'd just walked over to Len with my ears covered. And nobody had been guiding me. "Len?"

"Yes?"

"Is…something different about my eyes?"

I sensed his attention turn to me. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I just came over here without help."

He looked at me for a long moment. Then he set his kwan-something down and said, "Nobody else looks any different. There's no reason for your eyes to have changed."

I cocked an eyebrow with a smirk. "Why, Len, I'd forgotten just how good you are at _not answering the question._"

Len just scowled at me. "Your eyes look exactly the same as before."

"Thank you. Now please get that scowl off your face."

He stopped scowling and stared at me, with astonishment written all over his face in letters even I could read. _Wait…_

"I'm…able to sense thoughts?" Reaching out a hand and tapping his jaw closed, I amended, "Well, intentions, anyway. I suppose that could come in handy."

Then I heard Morty talking to Amidamaru, asking if he was okay. And the samurai wasn't answering.

* * *

MORNING

I was bored. In fact, bored wasn't even the word for it. I integrated Kachina with her body so she could nurse her kitten, listening to the boys argue. Joco pulled another bad joke out of thin air and nearly got hit.

We were just starting to get somewhere when Joco pulled another bad joke. And another one, and then he really got hit.

Though it was pretty funny when Len just gave up on hitting Joco and asked Morty if he'd found anything.

Nix. But then Amidamaru pointed a way to the black dust. He said it was a feeling he had.

I separated cat-soul from cat-body and we all started walking. I'd taken to letting Morty carry the cats as something he could do.

Jun walked up next to me. "Why do you always terminate the furyoku you do with the cat after a few minutes?"

"One, because I don't really have the energy to sustain it when I wasn't the one who killed her; two, because the rest of the time I'm integrating with her myself to be able to see my opponents."

"Oh, that makes sense."

* * *

Then we ran into the three girls from before. Apparently, Zeke had told them to come test our new powers, though they didn't say as much.

Fair enough. Now, if only Anna will just step out of the way and let us do what we had to…

Okay, okay…three on three, with Yoh, Len and Ryo fighting for our side. I cocked my head and listened to the chaos.

First shot, parried easily!

Then things went bad, and then good again!

Then very, very bad – and I couldn't do anything!

And I had no idea what Len just did. "Siyana, integrate!"

Whoa! Bason – supersized! And Len was on his shoulder! They took down one of the enemies with one punch!

Then Ryo did the same thing – he was on a giant many-headed serpent! He took down another!

Gigantic Amidamaru...but it almost didn't work! Then Yoh pulled out another sword to hold the rest of his furyoku, and that worked!

Morty was amazed. So was I, really.

I separated from Siyana, the girls went sob story about losing, and Anna told them off.

Then Zeke appeared, shocked the crazies out of all of us by congratulating Yoh, and left again!

As if that wasn't enough, someone who'd evidently been watching that said that Zeke and Yoh were twin brothers!

"All right," I demanded of the air, "now I _really_ want to touch Zeke's face!"

* * *

We sat down to listen to the story from the stranger, who was evidently Yoh's father.

Okay…apparently, Zeke had some serious intelligence and control even as a baby, and had a fire-spirit sweep him away when he was going to be killed.

Yoh was silent for a long time.

Then there was a lot of stupid conversation, mainly by Joco. I sat it out.

_Then_ the X-Laws showed up. Lyserg seemed to be trying to talk us into something.

Did I mention I wasn't paying attention?

I started paying attention about the time it seemed like there would be a fight.

Len's only real remark was, "It beats being bored."

I was on the largest version of Maia ever, integrated with Kachina, just staying out of the way while everyone else fought. Except Yoh; he was waiting for Amidamaru. Waiting for what?...

It was fun when I joined in the fight. The X-Laws just didn't know what was hitting them!

Then Yoh pulled out the biggest furyoku sword ever and won!

The X-Laws left, and Anna explained what in the world Yoh had done: a double medium. He'd only been able to do it because Amidamaru had become a holy spirit. "Call it Spirit of Sword for now."

I walked over to Amidamaru and held up my hands towards him. "You know…before, I wasn't able to touch a ghost…but I'd still like to know if I can see what you're like."

About the only reason I was asking Amidamaru instead of, say, Maia, was because he'd impressed me.

He was silent for a minute. Then he slowly reached forward and closed his hands about my wrists.

And he was able to guide my hands to his face! Whether that was _his_ new power or _mine_ was anyone's guess, but it worked!

I was barely able to focus on observing his face. He'd been through a lot of pain and suffering in life, but he still had a light heart.

Then we set off again.

* * *

**A/N: Episodes 40-42 take credit.**


	10. Closer

**_Closer..._**

* * *

**Aiko**

We stopped at the next town for a good meal. I cocked my head to listen to the conversations.

Apparently, there were shamans everywhere in this town! And nobody was fighting! Len didn't get that at all. "Every time we've run into another shaman, fighting's practically been the introduction ritual!"

He got some stranger to laugh. That guy also explained what was going on, though I ignored most of it, if not all.

Then Len stood up and started walking away, pulling me after him.

"Where are you going?" somebody asked.

"Where he isn't."

_He must've sensed that I didn't want to listen to this guy anymore, or he wouldn't have brought me with him._

He was muttering to himself. Something about defeating Yoh and becoming the Shaman King.

Then a voice that I recognized suddenly spoke to us!

_Zeke?_

Len's hand tightened on mine.

Zeke suggested something along the lines of "Join forces with me, Len, and you will beat Yoh; for in your current state, you won't be able to."

"You're wrong," Len retorted, slowly lowering my hand back to my side, "I can beat Yoh." Then his energy picked up. "And as for you!"

My hand snapped back up and grabbed Len's wrist, and suddenly I heard Morty's voice behind me and sensed his hands holding onto Len's.

Zeke sounded vaguely disappointed. I think he wanted Len to attack him. Still, he left right around the time Trey and Joco got to us.

Then suddenly, Joco sounded like he was trying to get out of something!

Apparently, a couple of someones thought we were working for Zeke, and were determined to destroy us!

Then Mister Nice Guy from the restaurant came out to calm everyone down, and the girl released Joco.

…Who promptly made a bad joke. Well, at least he's okay.

"Let's just relax here," the guy went on. "Let's all put away our ghosts. That big scary one, too, if you don't mind?"

_Len, do everyone a favor and _calm down.

Then some guys ran up with a couple people of Zeke's. The prisoners said they'd ran from Zeke.

I didn't know if I believed them, but I certainly didn't like this place anymore.

And I _really_ didn't like these idiots who thought they could defeat Zeke.

Then the X-Laws showed up. Could this mess get any worse?

I'm not sure how this ended up happening, but Lyserg ended up abandoning his guardian ghost because she wouldn't kill one of the Egypt-obsessed guys. While I believed they deserved a good whipping, I didn't think those Egyptophiles deserved death anyway.

"Cloe?" I called softly, and felt her attention turn to me. "If you want, you can travel with me for a while, just until Lyserg comes to his senses."

She nodded and flew over to me, landing lightly on my hand. I figured it was because she liked me; I'd tried to teach Lyserg how to be a better shaman.

"Just curious: has he kept up the blindfold training?"

I sensed her nod slowly. My guess was that that meant, "Yes, but not as often anymore."

"Doesn't really think he needs it right now, huh?"

She shook her head sadly.

* * *

Later, everyone went to the bar again, just talking around in circles. I'd gotten bored and stepped outside, just to get some air.

I could still hear the conversation, and then when somebody challenged Yoh to a Shaman Fight – what _is_ it about Yoh, anyway, that makes everyone want to pick on him? – I went back in with Faust and Morty. By the sound of Morty's voice, I think Faust scares him for some reason.

The fight was to be between those three god-class shaman and Yoh, Mister Ryo, and Faust.

I didn't like what I was hearing. Not really.

Though it _was_ funny when Ryo called their ice-wielder "snowflake."

Then somebody insulted Faust's ghost, and I was finally told that she was Faust's wife.

_That explains their closeness._

And after that, they seemed keen on insulting Faust.

I idly wondered how much they'd regret attacking.

Well, after confronting a fifty-foot woman with bat wings, they definitely were thinking twice about attacking him again. …I think.

And why was I sensing Zeke nearby? Or is that a dumb question?

I did agree with Trey about how sappy Faust was getting in his story of joining Yoh and Anna restoring his guardian ghost to a proper strength, but I wasn't interested in saying something and getting hit by Anna.

And then Ice-man – what was his name? Paco? – told his story, or at least part of it.

Ryo deflected an attack at Yoh and then explained why he was here, summoning his most powerful furyoku at the same time. I wondered how long it would take before Yoh pulled the same basic thing.

Ryo's sarcasm just made me feel like laughing. "Ooh, I'm so scared! Actually, wait: I'm not."

They got knocked flat, leaving our side still standing, but those creeps weren't done. Couldn't they take a hint?

Oh, that was his name: Pino. And even his friends were wanting to back down now, but he didn't want to quit until he'd fought Yoh and proved how weak Yoh was.

"Sheesh," I proclaimed, "does everyone think Yoh's weak because he prefers not to fight? Any idiot can fight! Knowing when not to is real strength!"

"Brave words," Anna remarked, sounding slightly snide, "from a blind girl."

Finally, Yoh stepped forward to finish the fight. He also said to make it an official Shaman fight: whoever lost was out of the tournament.

Fine with Pino, and he attacked Yoh right off! But it went right past him!

Apparently, Yoh had just chosen to ignore the attack, and then he made his Spirit of Sword! It was bigger than the last time!

I sincerely hoped Pino would just give up now.

Trey cracked, "That Viking's gonna get knocked back to the North Pole!"

Len laughed a little and added, "Or further."

At point-blank range, Yoh swung, and won the match!

* * *

Later, I was listening to Pino explaining to Trey how Yoh had guessed that he'd needed to be free of the tournament. Everyone was just randomly having fun around me, although I suspected that Anna was going to clobber Yoh if he ate any more ramen noodles.

Those three left to get home, and I glanced around at the others. Faust was giving a small inspection to Velvet, making sure everything was in order, while Kachina hovered nearby anxiously. Morty was sitting nearby as well, holding Kachina's body like it was a teddy bear. Everyone else was just being randomly funny – at least, I thought they were funny – and Len was sitting next to me.

With his arm around my shoulders. Was he really getting used to me, or maybe even getting to like me?


	11. Dobi Village and Smaller Teams

**_Dobi Village and New Teams_**

* * *

**Aiko**

Finally, we left the town and set off for Dobi Village again.

When we stopped for the night, the boys decided to argue. I crawled over to Anna. "That conversation we were going to have when you first showed up? I just want to tell you that I'm not directly rooting for Len to win; I just want somebody to defeat Zeke."

"Don't we all?"

I'd flopped backwards onto my sleeping bag and stared, unseeing, up at the sky. "I never actually saw the star that signaled the start of the tournament. I just felt it."

When the arguing really started, the ghosts broke it up by saying that we were headed the right way.

And that a "black sandstorm" would come late at night.

I sat up. "Um…"

They didn't notice me, so I just went to sleep.

* * *

And the next morning, evidently, some ruins had appeared! I walked over to Amidamaru. "Is this place where we need to go?"

"_**Yes. It's inside those ruins.**_"

_The blue cave._

Morty, for once, was the one leading me into the ruins. We found a lake. The ghosts went down to explore, and when they came back, they mentioned a tunnel. "_**However, it seems quite long. You and the other shaman should be okay, but I'm not sure about Anna and the others.**_"

"We'll be fine," Anna told us.

I was nervous, and went in last with one last comment to them: "I can't swim."

"_**Can't swim?**_" Amidamaru asked, while I was trying to tread water, clinging to the side.

"Yeah…I…never…learned."

He was silent for a second. Then he said, "_**Take a deep breath; this first swim of yours is going to be a long one.**_"

I took a deep breath and let myself sink. Once under, I felt someone take hold of my hand – was it Amidamaru, or had someone hung back for me? – and we started moving.

We swam far, and I thought I was going to die before suddenly we broke surface somewhere! I still floundered, but I kept gasping for air and thinking I'd never take it for granted ever again!

When we got out of the water and started walking, the boys had started arguing again. Okay…I wasn't walking. I was still too weak from that crazy experience to walk without help. Faust was keeping me upright. (Yoh had told me that Amidamaru had been helping me. Which made sense: everyone else had to think about swimming, and Amidamaru didn't have to breathe, so he could focus on me.)

Yoh calmly broke up the argument with just a few words and then started walking again. We stopped when we ran into a dead end. But when we turned around to go back, the tunnel was blocked off that way, too!

Then Amidamaru just said two words: "_**It's here.**_"

Suddenly, we heard echoing words saying something about chosen shaman, Dobi Village, and one more test! Power surged up around us, along with a lot of bright light!

* * *

**Yoh**

I woke up in my hometown, but it was deserted. Then when I went out, I found things that belonged to my friends:

A broken snowboard…

A kwan-dou snapped in half…

A broken wooden katana…

A shredded tessen fan…

Finally, I found them. They were all hanging over branches in a tree and unconscious!

Something was keeping me from my friends! It was telling me to go to Dobi Village alone, and that my friends had failed their tests!

"I am not leaving this place without my friends!"

Then suddenly I woke up again!

"Finally, you are awake."

_Silva!_

"You have passed the Great Spirit's final test."

"And, the guys?"

He smiled. "Come with me. Your friends are waiting for you."

* * *

**Aiko**

When I turned my ears from the conversation, I heard Yoh. He seemed like he was having a hard time crediting seeing us.

I was, quite frankly, exhausted from the test. Still, that didn't stop me from leaping from my chair, running over to Yoh, and, after spinning around him and touching his face and chest with fingertips to be sure it was him, hugging him. What was weird for that test, though, was that for its duration, I could see! Really, truly see!

Then we saw Zeke. Well…they did. I heard him. He explained how we'd met the King of Spirits in the Star Sanctuary.

Then we heard the X-Laws! How'd _they_ get here?

A stuttering loudspeaker suddenly started announcing, and sounding quite like he didn't have everything in order. What he finally said, though, was that every team had to have three shaman only, so we had to divide ourselves up!

"_Groups of three?_" everyone yelled. "_Is he serious?_"

Before we left the area, Zeke stopped me. "I remember hearing you wish to see me like you had a chance to see Yoh, so you could compare. This is likely to be your only chance before the second round begins."

I shrugged and held my hands out for him to guide to his face.

He did look like Yoh. He wore large earrings instead of headphones, and his hair was longer, but otherwise, he had the same sleepy eyes that Yoh did, and the same facial structure. Plus, he had the same wiry muscle in his arms that Yoh did, possibly with a little more bulk on his chest.

Curiosity satisfied, I followed my friends.

* * *

That night, we decided to divide up into teams. Faust and Ryo opted to go with Yoh. Shocker.

Len grabbed Trey and Joco, proclaiming, "That settles that!"

I just stood there quietly for a minute, listening to some minor arguing and wondering when somebody would notice me_._

Suddenly, Yoh asked us what happened. After hearing everyone else paraphrase what had happened to me, Yoh stated that we'd all had the same test! _Figures._

When everyone started off for their cabins, Morty looked up at me. "Hey, Aiko, you don't have a team yet!"

I sensed the two teams stop and glance back.

"Yeah…I suppose this is for the best, though." I shrugged and tried to look like I was fine with this. "After all, now the cabins don't have to be co-ed as well as with one person on the floor!"

Every guy agreed, and they set off again. Then I turned and started walking away. _Guess they don't need me anymore._ Being left out of their group really had bothered me, but I didn't want to make them feel guilty.

(I hooked up with a couple of the Lees.)


	12. Family Matters

_**Family Matters**_

* * *

**Aiko**

Even though I was on a "Lee" team, I still hung out with the boys. I'd explained that I was still more comfortable around them.

We watched a fight between some of Zeke's allies and another team. I'd already laid a bet that Zeke's boys would win.

Called it.

* * *

Later, we were having lunch. I was just casually leaning against Trey when suddenly he stood up, calling every guy here an idiot, something about how the other team had been weak.

We somehow ended up talking about team names. Yoh asked me, "Hey, have you found a team yet?"

"Yeah. I'm with two of the Lee sisters; at least I know them. We decided to still honor that two members are part of that group while also acknowledging that I was blind and call ourselves the Lee Bats."

"Lee Bats?" Trey asked, sounding confused.

"Yeah," I lunged up from the seat and landed my hands on Trey's shoulders, squeaking a couple times like a bat and adding, "You'll never see us coming!"

I got him to yelp in fright, and Len to laugh.

Then suddenly a couple spirits came over mentioning a problem!

We got there in time to break up a fight between Jun and a couple of murder-bent kids.

Len's cousins, actually. They challenged Len to a fight, while mentioning effectively that he was a disgrace to the Tao family. "That means that now it makes sense why they gave you a blind fiancée; they thought you wouldn't be worth better!"

Len suddenly snapped to my defense. "You don't even know her!"

Yoh glanced at me. "Blind fiancée, huh?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah…I wasn't going to tell you."

Trey, Joco and Ryo all kind of freaked out a little. "You're Len's fiancée?"

"The reason I joined the tournament, actually. I didn't want to be considered worthless…like they consider me."

* * *

That night, I went to see them.

"I can't believe Aiko and Len are going to be married someday! I mean, Aiko's a sweet girl, and Len's as tough as they come! The Taos could end up eating her alive!"

I ignored them and went to find Len.

I found him on a cliff. "How are you holding up?"

"Fine. And you?"

"Okay…do you have any plans for tomorrow's match?"

He was silent for a minute. Then he turned around. "It's amazing how clearly one can see things on the eve of battle."

I shrugged. "I wouldn't know."

"I don't mean physically. I mean how problems that ordinarily are quite muddling suddenly show their own solutions. And…how true feelings can be revealed."

That last statement was so unlike Len that I wondered. "Len? Are you sure you're not running a fever?"

He laughed a little, but then just said, "Nothing. Forget I said anything."

I walked away wondering what that had been about. _Had I missed something in my light attitude?_

The next day, the Lee Bats managed to win our first match. Then I ran off to find Len.

After the initial "pleasantries," and I use the term loosely, the fight started.

And Len wasn't doing anything! He was just standing there, letting himself get hit!

It was even funnier when he just set his weapon down and stood there with his arms outspread, daring them to keep striking.

Even Yoh was giggling!

Even more power was thrown at him, and he only yelled once. I couldn't actually see the injuries he was getting, but I could just imagine them.

And he was still standing.

Then he made a little speech, and then made an oath to change the Tao family for the good!

_Maybe now this will get more interesting._

Then he was willing to fight, and won the match.

"And that's how it is done, boys," Len stated as he walked towards us. "Notice how I didn't have to use any sort of double medium. Still, if I were you, Yoh, I'd still keep working on it. Because you're gonna need it when we meet in the tournament!"

"Well," Yoh answered, "you don't have to tell me twice!"

"Good. That was a piece of cake, and barely a scratch on me! Clearly I'm the strongest shama…"

Then he fell down, unconscious, and everybody started half-teasing him, saying he'd learned the art of sleeping in public. Yoh added that Len would never beat him at that, and Ryo added that nobody could beat Yoh at that.

I ignored them, walked over to Len, and knelt down. Carefully rolling him onto his back, I leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Congratulations, Len: you've earned this."

* * *

**A/N: What Len was going to tell Aiko, if he could just convince himself to say it, was that he'd decided he loved her enough to go through with the betrothal.**


	13. Friends Constantly Tested

_**Friends Constantly Tested**_

* * *

**Aiko**

The next day had only two matches. I wandered around not doing anything.

Weirdly enough, I wasn't even hungry.

I did hear Ryo and Morty wandering around checking out the competition. And I went past a shop where Team Len was hanging out and arguing, while following Ryo and Morty. (Boredom. That's all that was, for me following those guys.)

We stopped by a lake. Ryo said that it could be his special hangout, except for being too quiet. Morty described it to me and then noticed some animal.

Then some woman walked up to the deer and patted it, then turned her attention to us.

I chose to ignore what happened next and instead dozed off.

* * *

Fun conversations around the dinner table. I liked what Len said, because it was completely him: "Yoh, has your sad little team found out who their opponents are, because we still don't know."

"_Sad little team," _honestly.

Nobody had seen Ryo. Or rather, Morty had; the guy had said he wasn't hungry.

Then Faust and Yoh both got rung up. Their match was against the same team that Ryo had encountered this morning!

_Oh, Ryo's gonna love this. And I say that with all sarcasm._

* * *

NEXT DAY; NOON

We decided to watch the fight. All I knew about this was that two people on the team were man and fiancée.

When the fight started, Ryo bolted ahead and ended up stuck in a tornado of sand! I could still sense him…kind of…but I already knew nobody else could see him!

Anna ended up clobbering Joco for a bad joke before Trey or Len could lay a weapon on him!

I leaned over, with Morty keeping a hand on my back for a measure of what was safe – landscapes were still tricky for me to judge – and kept trying to "watch."

Faust had Eliza in a supersized form, and Yoh was with him, but I couldn't see Ryo at all anymore.

After who knows what, the fight ended.

I'm not sure Ryo was too happy about the situation. Oh sure, his team won the fight, but he didn't win the girl.

That team flew away. And evidently, it had been a team of one man and two women, because Ryo started hyperventilating.

_Good grief._

* * *

**Trey**

A few days later, I found some guy who was determined to say that his vision was the better one, and tell me that I couldn't be in the tournament.

I ended up ranting at Aiko. She's a very good listener when someone's mad. "I can't believe so many people are falling for his 'the world will be shrouded in darkness' song! I mean, would you believe something like that? What am I saying, your world's already shrouded in darkness!"

"You know I can see light."

That brought the gears in my brain to a grinding halt. "What?" That was about as intelligent as I could get at that point.

"I can tell if it's day or night." She was using that talking-to-idiots voice I hate so much, probably because she only uses it at either me or Joco.

"Oh."

That night, we found out that our match was against Team Doom themselves! This is so on!

* * *

**Len**

Out on the field the next day, I glanced back at the stands and found Aiko in the crowds.

_I wonder how good her hearing is. I think I'll try to make her laugh; often she finds my sarcasm funny._

"Trey, if anything should happen," I glanced at him instead, "could I have your snowboard? I've always wanted to learn how, but I've only learned how to ski. Still, there should be no reason to worry, because there's a pretty good chance that we shall run right over them!"

After threatening Joco when he tried to make a joke, I glanced back up at the stands. Aiko was gone from my line of vision, but her ghost and the others she was sitting with were looking down at a place on the floor behind the wall.

_Her hearing's better than I thought._

* * *

**Aiko**

_Len! How _dare _you?_ I finally managed to get into my chair again, trying to dry my tears of laughter. My sides hurt.

The battle was fierce, but Team Len won.

* * *

Then a couple days later, Team Asakura fought a team of gladiators, and won. That was largely due to Faust.

After that match, Faust came over to me. "Aiko, how long have you been blind? Has it been all your life?"

"Ah…no, actually. My parents told me that my sight faded between the ages of one and two."

"Might I take a look?"

I shrugged. "Why not? You inspected Velvet, so there's no problem with you taking a look at my eyes. Just find a place for me to sit down."

That didn't take long – the finding a seat, or his inspecting my eyes. He did tell me, matter-of-factly, that there was no medical treatment that could restore sight, and I reassured him that I didn't miss it.

* * *

A couple days after that, we…started having a little problem with Team Len. Starting with Len himself. That fight was extremely, ah…odd. I could tell that the girl standing behind the three fighters was the only true shaman, and that the three fighters were only puppets, but nobody else could. At least, they couldn't until Trey and Len got their fighting game back on and struck all of the puppets down.

I didn't understand Joco's jokes. Then again, I can't see him, and most of his jokes involve props. With his last one, that evidently involved Mic dancing, well…I could have seen that one, but I'd left Kachina's body behind, and she normally stays near the thing unless she's fighting with me. I'm trying to reserve my strength for when I'm actually in a match.

This team, which wasn't a real team, was disqualified, and Team Len won. Later, just after Morty tried his hand at a stand-up comic on his chair, the girl came in, and we started including her in the fun…which included Ryo throwing Morty across the room to give the girl Morty's chair. Good grief…men.

"By the way, Aiko," Len asked me, actually setting his hand on top of mine, "do you know who your next match is against, or when it is?"

"Not yet. But they'd better watch out. I'm fiercer than I look, and Millie and Ellie are proving to be quite strong as my backup."

"Then your opponents are going to have quite the fight on their hands, and I look forward to seeing that match."

_Len's been going out of his way to be nice to me. Not that I mind, but…does this have anything to do with that conversation several days ago?_

**A/N: Yes, I finally looked up and figured out which two of the Lee team Aiko hooked up with. I'll probably write a battle of hers next, with her facing an extreme challenge.**


	14. Because I'm Blind, I See

**_Because I'm Blind, I See_**

* * *

**Aiko**

Integrating Kachina with her body, I sat next to the two cats as she gave her kitten a thorough wash. Then suddenly, she gave Velvet a sharp cuff, sending the kitten running off.

"Um, Kachina? What's wrong?"

She turned and looked up at me. Then she left her body. "_Nothing's wrong, Aiko. Velvet doesn't need me anymore, that's all._"

I could sense her regard. She was wondering if I'd try to keep her here, breaking my promise.

Well, that wasn't something I was going to start now. "You've been a faithful servant for as long as you've been here. I won't try to keep you here. Go in peace."

She smiled at me with a purr, and then flew off along the pillar of light.

I gathered up Kachina's body and went to find Morty.

* * *

I found him. "Hey, Morty?"

"Eh?"

"Could you do me a favor?"

* * *

We found a quiet spot just outside the village. I buried the body, and Morty found a rock, wrote Kachina's name on it, and set it up for a gravestone. After sending up quiet prayers for her, we went back to the village.

"What will you do now?" Morty asked. "Your strategy has always focused around Kachina being fused with you, while Maia's medium was your fan."

"I'll make do somehow."

* * *

My next battle was soon named. Our opposing team was a group of three whose leader, Boris, had strong beliefs that anyone who was "handicapped" shouldn't be a shaman, and should instead rely on others for strength. This included blind people.

Boy, those people burn me up!

* * *

My team members were soon busy with the other guy's team members, leaving me to fight Boris myself.

"You have no business being a shaman," he snapped, "your sightlessness only slows everyone else down!"

"What makes you think I can't be a shaman?" I snapped back. Then I pulled what I now knew was a double medium. Using Maia in both fans is technically a double medium like Yoh's Spirit of Sword, so mine would probably be called Spirit of Fan. Last time it had exhausted me, but I'm stronger now, so hopefully it wouldn't be too bad this time. I leaped onto the disc it formed, and it took off. For once, I was standing up on the fan with my arms outstretched.

My world shrank dramatically, until there were only two things in it: Maia under my feet, and Boris' guardian ghost.

And one of us had to go down.

Then I noticed something: the aura around his body seemed unstable, flickering about him like fog.

_His body's uncertain. His own body has a hidden weakness that he doubtless doesn't know about, or he wouldn't be so snobbish over my fighting. Therefore, I must prove his weakness to himself._

I rushed towards him, as he lunged as well. My whole body was bent forward, as my toes balanced on the center of Maia's fans to keep me facing forward while she spun. My sightless eyes were fixed on his, that I could sense, and I could already tell that this was a game of Chicken! I knew what I had to do.

"Out of my way, you fool! You'll die!" he yelled.

"You know, it's a funny thing about being blind," I retorted, "I feel no fear of your power! I'll just use what I have, and hope it's enough!"

Closer…closer we came to impact…

I recognized he wasn't going to dodge this time and swerved point-blank range, but I still got grazed and Maia and I spun wildly out of control – and I couldn't use my right arm! It was dislocated at the shoulder, and burning furiously with pain, no wonder I screamed!

"With one arm and no sight, there's no way you'll be able to balance!" Boris-the-Heckler yelled at me, turning around. "You might as well give up now!"

I looked over my shoulder. "Never! Maia, Spiraling Swipe!"

She started spinning extremely fast, with my feet actually touching down onto the "paper" so that I spun with her. I held my useless arm to my side to keep it from getting caught by the wind, and we circled back around towards him.

Focusing on his energy, I sensed his thoughts, such as I could.

…_She's not; she couldn't be still trying to win. ...She's not backing down? How could this be? She's blind – she's _weak!_ How – _

At point-blank range this time, I suddenly sensed it: his stress triggered a seizure, and my furyoku collided with his while it was defenseless. I caught him on Maia so that he never hit the ground, and slowly lowered him.

"Great job, Aiko!" Millie called, "We won!"

"Really?" Why was my voice sounding so far away in my own ears? "Good." Then I went deaf.

* * *

**Len**

I thought I was going to lose it when Aiko just collapsed down there. We all went down to see if she was all right, and Faust studied her. "Aside from a few scrapes and a dislocated shoulder, she's just exhausted."

After he set her arm right – which probably would have caused her more pain if she'd been conscious – Faust stated, "She needs plenty of rest now."

"I'll take her back to her place." I shoved her fans in my pocket and gathered her up in my arms. Maia hovered around me as I walked.

_Thank goodness she's all right. Now I'll be able to get another chance to tell her how I feel about her._

I don't know where her team went. Maybe they were going to find their friends. Still, that meant I wouldn't have an audience.

* * *

Finally finding her place and going in, I set her carefully down on one of the beds. Then, after glancing around to make sure nobody was watching, I leaned over and kissed her on the lips, stroking her forehead.

As I stood up, I tossed her fans onto her chest and glared at Maia. "Tell her I did that, and you'll wish you hadn't."

"_It is up to you to inform her of your actions if you choose to, Master Len._"

_Well, at least I still have my reputation._

_But where has my courage gone in this matter?_

**A/N: Len's more used to battles than dealing with girls, so he hasn't quite figured out how to tell her; this is where his uncertaincy is coming from. (Is "uncertaincy" a word? ...I'VE MADE IT ONE! ^_^)**


	15. New Crazies

****

_New Crazies_

* * *

**Aiko**

Well, my arm felt better, though I wonder what happened after I fainted.

Some days later, I found my team. Their ghosts were gone! "What happened?"

"Some weird people made our ghosts pass on to the next life!" Millie snapped in frustration.

Ellie added, "They seemed to think that our ghosts were evil, and that they were doing us a favor."

"Hm…this won't do…but I must tread carefully with this matter. If I should lose Maia, then I lose a faithful servant and pair of eyes." Then I lifted my hand and pointed at them. "But don't you dare leave! Without you two, I don't have a team!"

They flinched. Then they reached up and set their hands on mine. "We'll stay. Even if we can't do anything, we'll stay and make sure you still have an official team."

I smiled, glad I'd made such good friends out of them. "I'll go find Yoh and the others."

* * *

I found Amidamaru later. He seemed distressed, especially after we found the others and found out that Morty had been taken over by a ghost and ran off!

"Well, we'd better be careful with this," I said, trying to be a slightly calming presence. "We don't want to lose our ghosts, because we won't be able to fight Zeke otherwise."

Well…we found Morty. He was being controlled by a ghost they called Mosuke!

I closed my eyes and "studied" the presence. "It's not itself. It's being controlled from outside."

Then Fudo, the guy behind all this, showed up. He seemed to think that our ghosts were our masters.

"Can anybody get any denser?" I remarked to the sky. "Ghosts that hang around shamans do what the shamans tell them!"

"That's where you're wrong," he began to reprimand me.

"I may be blind," I snapped, "but I see better than you do!"

Then Amidamaru said we couldn't fight this guy! Evidently he knew him, or at least his family.

Yoh's father came over and told us that these guys just couldn't trust ghosts because they feared them.

Yoh and Fudo tossed words back and forth, arguing over Amidamaru's morality or something. I was slowly getting frustrated with this. "Can't we do something?"

"_Not without endangering Amidamaru, Miss Aiko,_" Maia said quietly to me.

I growled.

The next thing I knew, they'd sealed Eliza! Then they started attacking Amidamaru! He tried not to fight, but Yoh just ran over and grabbed him, keeping him from leaving! He was getting hurt, but he wouldn't let go!

Then, of all things, he called Amidamaru a brother and said that if one would be destroyed, they'd have to go through him!

"Bold words," I remarked, "but are they enough?"

Cowardly Fudo. He sent Morty and Mosuke to destroy Yoh and Amidamaru!

I closed my eyes and "listened." Morty was talking to Mosuke, and they were trying to figure out how to break free. Then they figured something out! I could hardly wait to find out what they would do.

Then Morty helped Mosuke change mediums, from a hammer to his laptop! He'd become a full-fledged shaman!

Next, Yoh joined in the fight with Amidamaru!

I…wasn't sure exactly what happened next. But all guardian ghosts that had been sealed away were brought back. Yoh jokingly called Morty "Morty the Destroyer."

"Aw, come on, I'm not really a shaman."

Then Yoh absently asked where Mosuke was. They decided that Mosuke was happily going back to the spirit world.

_I wonder if I should tell them that Mosuke's still stuck inside Morty's laptop?_

…_Nah. They'll figure it out soon enough._

* * *

Later, we watched Zeke fighting for – at least for me – the first time. His companions barely did anything, it was all Zeke, and he won. All I wanted was to shut out the screams of the losing.

Okay, so that was the first time. We discussed it over a meal. I mostly ignored Team Len, mostly because I was pretty sure soon they'd start arguing.

Called it, especially after Joco pulled another bad joke.

Then Yoh's father suggested a practice fight between Yoh's team and Len's team, just to see if they'd be ready to fight against Zeke and his Spirit of Fire.

* * *

I sat back with Morty and the others. "He'll get to teaching me soon enough."

_As long as he doesn't get Len too mad…_

Well…at least they got something. But it wasn't much.

Then he suggested training them in using their furyoku. "I'm afraid," he looked at me, "that I don't have a method for teaching you. Unless you learned to write."

_The curse of being blind._ I shrugged. "I never learned, but I'm sure if Maia helped me…"

"_Yes, Miss Aiko, I learned how to write. If it is within my power, I shall attempt to help you._"

We were each instructed to write the name of something important on a grain of rice. Almost as soon as he said that, I felt Maia shiver.

"We can do this." I picked up my brush and my rice. "Guide me." Then I whispered the name I wanted her to write: "Len."

I felt her hands close on the hand holding my brush. "_Hold the rice steady._"

Well, together we accomplished the task. Then Yoh's father let the wind carry the rice away.

"Now, go find your grain of rice."

"WHAT?" That was voiced by all of us.

Anna ended up kicking the boys off the cliff. Then her attention turned to me. "Well? Are you going?"

I slowly slid over the cliff. "I'm going, I'm going."

We each started searching for the rice. Personally, I wasn't sure how we were going to accomplish this when I couldn't even see, but I knew I had to try.

I sat down with Maia and just looked at her. "All right, Maia, how would you go about doing this?"

She was silent.

"No ideas, huh? Well…we'll just have to do our best."

Yoh and his team had to leave to prepare for their next match, leaving us four searching all night.

* * *

Amazingly, I found mine first! Then I grabbed my fans and called out, "Maia, Spirit of Fan! Let's get back and watch Yoh's fight!"

_Sure, Spirit of Fan is exhausting, but it's the only way I'll make it back in time._

I found Morty while almost falling down. The team they were fighting was…ridiculous. Strong, but ridiculous.

Then all three of them were getting beaten by a turtle! The team didn't even have to do anything!

Next they were running. Good grief. At least I didn't have to go through with this.

Finally, they reverted to Giant Spirit Form after Ryo got trampled. I could sense that Yoh's father wasn't pleased.

* * *

Then we learned who the rest of the Lees were fighting: Team Star. That was Zeke's team!

All at once, I felt sorry for Millie and Ellie. They were going to end up losing three of their friends unless they surrendered.


	16. Victories and Losses

**_Victories and Losses_**

* * *

**Aiko**

The remaining Lees chose not to withdraw from the fight. I knew it was because they had their pride to consider, but…

I looked at my teammates. They were still here, with me. And they were just looking up at me.

"Thanks for picking us to be on your team, Aiko," Millie finally said.

"Yeah," Ellie added, "at least we don't have to fight Zeke."

"Yet," I raised a finger. "We don't know who our opponents will be. There's always the chance we'll end up paired in a fight with him."

That night was spent fitfully. Technically, I stayed with the Lee Five, and they were giving themselves a pep talk.

I worried about them. In fact, I'd already decided I wasn't going to "watch" this match, and instead wait for someone to tell me about it afterwards.

I found Len and the others arguing. In fact, Yoh's dad was fighting Len! I slid down the side of the cliff and asked, "What's going on?"

"Yoh's dad made a deal with Len," Joco told me. "If Len wins, he doesn't have to find the rice."

"You're still trying to do that?"

"Hey, we haven't seen you all day yesterday, so what does that say about your persistence?"

"I left because I found mine."

That stopped them cold. I ignored them and 'watched' the match.

Len was having a hard time. I could tell there was only one of Yoh's dad (I can't spell his name), but Len, Trey and Joco were seeing triple! Len was using up a lot of furyoku, and almost hit us, but he wasn't coming close to hitting him.

Then I could tell Len was extremely close to losing.

_Come on, Len…your eyes are fooling you! Remember what I was teaching Lyserg before and don't trust your eyes this fight! I was able to find my grain of rice so quickly because I understood how to use my furyoku to heighten my instincts and guide me, because I know that I'm not the strongest shaman!_

I understood everything Yoh's dad was saying, but Len didn't want to listen. I hoped something was penetrating, or he wouldn't last long.

Well, he figured something out. He still had to find the rice, but he learned something.

* * *

Yoh came by later, and together, he and Len each found their grains of rice, much the same way I had. They didn't have a clue what it all meant, but they got a good laugh out of it.

"Nice work, boys," I remarked as I walked over to them. "You found them. And by the way? Yes, you got something out of this exercise besides a good laugh."

"We did?" They looked at each other in confusion.

"Yup! It's just that it's a subconscious thing, so you won't really be able to figure it out consciously until you absolutely have to. I'd tell you, but…"

"Oh, we understand perfectly!" Yoh laughed.

"Yes," Len added, "what fun would it be if the answers were just given to us?"

"So…" I looked at Yoh, "…what's up with the Lees?"

Yoh had tried to beat them in a fight, five-on-one. They managed to win, but they were out of furyoku, so they couldn't fight Zeke!

"Your team will be fine, even though they tried to take me on as well. I think Millie and Ellie both owe you big time for choosing them to be on your team, because even though they're out of furyoku right now, they're still in the tournament!"

"Yoh? You're pretty smart to get them out of fighting Zeke like that. So what are they doing now?"

"Well…they didn't want to go home, so they're staying around to watch some more battles and sightsee."

"Oh, I get it. Nasty place where they came from?"

"You could say that."

Well, that was fine.

* * *

Later, we were watching Lyserg and his partner fighting against some of Zeke's followers. For some reason, Lyserg's team was one person short.

Not that it mattered. They still won.

I was going to ask Lyserg if he'd kept up with his training, but Yoh defused that by accident. Lyserg has gotten way more sensitive to things Yoh says nowadays.

* * *

Later, we were talking. Ryo was going all miserable over Lyserg's new attitude, and Joco was picking on him a little. Personally, I hoped Yoh wouldn't be called out to fight anytime soon, because Ryo's head wasn't in it.

Then Joco made a bad joke and got pounded by both Trey and Len. I covered my face. "Remind me again why I travel with idiots?"

Yoh touched my shoulder. "Because you like us?"

I glanced at him and smiled a little. "Yeah…it's easy to ignore the idiocy when one's vaguely fond of the idiots."

Then he stepped outside to talk with Amidamaru, leaving me lost in my own thoughts.

* * *

That night, we went chasing after Cloe, who evidently knew that Lyserg was in trouble. Len called him a psychopath, but we were following anyway.

We found Lyserg. And the X-Laws. I was shaking in my shoes. Zeke didn't scare me, but the X-Laws did, for some strange reason. I couldn't see either of them, but one terrified me more! Where was the logic in that?

Maybe it was just what they managed to do to Lyserg.

Speaking of which, Yoh gave Lyserg one last chance. "If you walk away now, we won't bother you again."

He turned and started to walk away in answer.

I took two steps forward. "Lyserg, a request from a blind girl?"

He paused. "What."

"May I see your face one last time?" I asked, holding my hands up. "I won't dare approach you after tonight."

I felt his regard touch me. Then it transferred over to his pal Marco.

"One last time, Lyserg, as she cannot see." Then Marco's attention came to me. "But if you wish it, you must stand away from your friends."

I shrugged and walked forward. "You tell me when to stop."

After I went several paces and sensed Lyserg practically right in front of me, he said, "Stop. Lyserg, she is behind you. Show her how you've changed."

He turned around and brought my hands up to his face, and my fingers traced over him for what felt to me like the last time. "Thank you."

Without answering, he took hold of my wrists, lowered my hands away from his face, and then let go and walked away with the X-Laws.

I studied my fingers. Upon tracing my hands over his face and around his eyes, my fingers had gotten slightly damp with his tears.

_He misses us. But his decision is final._

Then he made another final decision – ditching Cloe.

We set back, and I gently touched Ryo's hand. "He was crying, Ryo. Just a little."

"Lyserg…"

Then I stepped ahead and caught hold of Len's hand. "He has become a psychopath."


	17. Changing the Rules

_**Changing the Rules**_

* * *

**Aiko**

Ryo was still crying over the fact that Lyserg had changed.

The restaurant was packed, due to the fact that there were no fights today. Apparently, communications had gone down.

Morty tried to play a video for Ryo on his laptop, but then it just quit. Anna didn't help matters with her "May it rest in peace" comment.

Ryo left the table and went out, and little Morty ran after him.

"I hope Morty can cheer him up."

I wasn't sure who said that, but I agreed.

* * *

Some time later, Ryo came back, saying that Lyserg had kidnapped Morty!

"_Lyserg_ defeated you?" Len asked incredulously. "_Lyserg_ Lyserg?"

We decided to go rescue Morty, even though it was definitely a trap. Anna's only comment was "Just be careful. And be back in time for dinner, okay?"

So we set off to find the little tyke.

Sheesh; when we got there, Marco seemed determined to turn Yoh's relation to Zeke into something crazy. But Yoh was going to go along with it!

_Come on, Mosuke, you can help Morty – just get your power up!_

Just before Yoh stepped into a circle I could only feel, Mosuke broke Morty free of his cage! Of course, then he ran out of furyoku, and Morty ended up falling, but Ryo saved him then.

Trey and Len threw Yoh's weapons to him, and he pulled out a giant version of Amidamaru, knocking back their two ghosts!

We all had our full-sized furyoku on the fields, but then the two of them fell back with one word from their Iron Maiden! I idly wondered what she was planning.

I had to ask: she trapped us in a cage! Faust almost casually stated that it was blocking our furyoku.

Suddenly, the thing spiraled off in a direction I'd already identified earlier as the circle, and went through! Joco wailed that he was scared, and Len snapped at him to be scared somewhere else.

_So much for _my_ seeking comfort from him._

Then, as if things couldn't get any worse, Zeke showed up, capturing the Iron Maiden. I don't know what he did to her, but I'd already decided I didn't want to know. Turning to Yoh, I said once again, "He doesn't sound like you at all."

Okay…apparently, he'd tried to kill her, but the fact that our cage was still in place was a sign that she was fine. I might not like Jean, but I didn't want her dead.

Then Zeke's minions started fighting the X-Laws.

Actually, I was only able to tell this by sound. My aura-sense was furyoku, and it was being blocked – partially. Which meant I couldn't tell who was winning.

Turning towards Ryo, I tried to joke, "Think Zeke will let us out?"

"I wouldn't count on it."

After a few sounds of carnage, which the others told me was the X-Laws losing, we suddenly prepared for battle. We couldn't stand the sight, so to speak, of this fight.

Jean had a pretty high level of Oversoul, but we kept trying to break free, all focusing on one spot.

Finally, we broke free. Of course, that had the remaining X-Laws worried about their precious Jean.

Standing between the X-Laws and Zeke's men was like standing between a rock and a hard place, but we didn't move.

I was actually having fun. "Watch this, guys! I got this trick by studying Joco's furyoku methods!" Then I channeled Maia along both arms, into both of my fans. Sure, that made them barely too large for me to hold, but my plan was actually quite simple. I closed them, brought them up over my head, and then, snapping them part-way open, I brought them down on either side of me – hard!

I took flight! "Woo-hoo!"

"You go, girl!"

_Had that been Joco, or Trey? It couldn't have been Len!_

…_Could it?_

Then a light started shining so brightly even I had to close my eyes!

After that, and a bunch of shouting, suddenly a great wind started pulling me in! "Len!" I screamed, although I could sense that he was being pulled in as well.

My friends, the X-Laws, Zeke and his minions, and even little Morty were being pulled into the Babylon Gate!

I tried to fly against the winds, but I was still new at this, and the winds were just too strong!

Then all at once, I blacked out!

* * *

**Len**

Nechrom came by after my sister found me, and delivered a message from Zeke, asking if I'd join him. He also mentioned that Zeke was going to find the King of Spirits and capture him, and that afterwards all weak shaman would be destroyed.

A tempting offer, but, no.

I hated myself after he left, but there wasn't much I could do.

Finally, we all found Yoh.

Suddenly, Morty looked around at all of us and asked, "Hey, where's Aiko?"

"WHAT?"

* * *

**Aiko**

I was trapped in a nightmare. I couldn't sense my friends anywhere!

Then…

"_Miss Aiko!_"

"Amidamaru! Where'd everyone go?"

I felt him grab my wrist and start pulling. "_We were all worried about you, and Len's just about ready to kill someone!_"

"He's – whoa! – that worried about me?" I asked, as I stumbled a little over the uneven ground.

"_Yes, I'm just as surprised as you are. Master Yoh told me to meet them back at the Shaman Council once I found you._"

"Well, let's go, then!" I started running, just so I could properly keep up with him.

When we got close, Amidamaru stopped. "What's up?"

"_There are stairs._" He sounded dismayed. "_I was rough enough to you coming this far, and the others are waiting…_"

"Hey, if you can pull me, then you can carry me. Just fly me up!"

"_All right._" Then I felt him release my hand and catch me up in his arms. All I had to do was relax and enjoy the ride.

When we got to the top, Amidamaru called, "_I found her!_"

When Amidamaru set me down, we were told that we had to stop Zeke. That involved, in our case, anyway, dropping out of the tournament.

Everyone took off their oracle bells, including me…except Len.

"I'll go, but there's something important I need to take care of first."

I walked over and set a hand on his shoulder. "Len…be careful." Then I followed the others towards the Forbidden Forest.

He came with us…and then all at once, challenged Yoh to a fight!

Ryo sounded scared. "I think he's gone mad!"

I was almost ready to agree.


	18. Star Sanctuary, part 1

**_Star Sanctuary, part 1

* * *

_****__******

**Aiko**

Yoh decided to go through with his fight against Len…and was winning.

I was amused with Jun agreeing with Faust's comment about Len being an idiot, mostly because I agreed with him, too.

Though, he did finally start getting the hang of what Yoh was doing, and start doing it himself, right after noticing the vague insult. I'm…not sure what happened after that, but Len decided not to fight anymore for now.

Something Jun had said, though, had me slightly worried: "This is the way he settles things." Would he choose to settle his feelings about the betrothal the same way? This "true furyoku" thing was something I could only barely sense!

"Perilous fighters, the Taos," I remarked to the empty air. This was something I'd said about the Taos more than once, and the only compliment I ever gave them.

* * *

Well, we made it to the Forbidden Forest, and then started following Yoh some more. I was starting to get some pretty haywire readings from my aura-sense in the forest. Then something caused an explosion!

It was two of Zeke's bozos. Trey stayed behind to fight them, along with Faust, though he didn't make it nearly as obvious.

Then we left Joco and Ryo to fight a couple more bozos.

"Come on, Yoh!" Len yelled. "We have to hurry!"

Then we had to leave our two council members to deal with the two who'd gone bad.

Then the Taos and I held off some more of Zeke's minions while Yoh ran on.

I was mostly parrying shots at point-blank range, backing up steadily. Then I backed into Jun.

"You've been fighting better than this, Aiko! What's wrong?"

"My aura-sense has been going nuts! I can't tell what's happening unless it's almost right on top of me!"

A few minutes later, suddenly the ground started shaking, and a great voice told us we had to leave or we'd be destroyed! I laid a bet with myself that that was the King of Spirits.

Suddenly, Len started chasing after his opponents and – even to my muddled aura-sense – vanished!

"Jun, where'd he go? I need to follow him!"

She was quiet for a minute. Then she pushed me into something that suddenly pulled me straight up!

And…none of my manners of sight were working at all!

* * *

Then suddenly…I was in a barren open place with rocks all around me – and I could see!

"Um…Maia?"

A woman in a flowing dress appeared next to me. "_Yes, Miss Aiko?_"

Yes. It was the same voice. "I can see. The energy in this place, wherever we are, has given my sight back." Then I looked around. "It's possible that this is where the King of Spirits resides, so he's given me my sight back for as long as I'm here. Help me out here, I doubt I'd recognize Len when I saw him."

Then I saw a rather skinny boy with sharply pointed hair leap into the air, dodging an attack that involved a chain!

"_That's Len!_"

I ran over to where he landed, and deflected a beam that was fired at him. "Hey there, Dangerous. Miss me?"

"Aiko! You'd better get out of here!"

I looked straight at his yellow eyes. "I'm not leaving you. As long as the King of Spirits has decided to let me have my sight for as long as I'm here, I'm going to help you! Deal with it."

Then _I_ had to rescue _him_ for once, because that revelation distracted him so much that he almost got hit!

Ryo came and joined in the fight soon after that. I had to glance over at him and see what he looked like.

_What's that he did with his hair?_

Our opponents – Mister Big-and-Fat, and Mister I-Don't-Want-Anyone-To-See-My-Face – had gotten way stronger than the last time we'd encountered them.

Then some weird guy with a giant skeleton started bragging about how they'd been chosen by Zeke.

"Is it just me," I asked no one in particular, "or is everyone condensing here?"

"That's fine with me," Len answered, "because now we can fight them all!"

I just wished that these guys would shut up, so we could wipe the smiles off their faces.

Then a boy with blue hair and a large snowboard jumped in and saved Ryo!

"Thanks for the save, Trey!" he said.

_So that's Trey. Okay…_

Len used Giant Spirit Control to try to take on the skeleton, but then the football guy came out of nowhere and knocked them backwards!

I took flight with my fans and tried to brace to catch Len. It…sort of worked. At least he landed on me and not the ground when we hit. "Oof! You weigh more than you look like you ought to!"

"Thanks for the help." _That sounded vaguely sarcastic. _He got off and helped me up, then turned to face this new threat.

A threat that soon crashed on its own from too much furyoku. Though soon he was replaced by some really weird-looking guy.

He nearly creamed Ryo, but then a dark-skinned boy with poofy hair and wild markings leaped in and saved Ryo!

I leaned over to Len. "Let me guess: that's Joco."

"One shot!"

Then a gigantic woman deflected another attack, and a wraith-like man was on her shoulder. Trey called _him_ Faust, so I figured that the giant woman was Eliza.

"Has any of you seen Yoh?" he called.

"No, not even _I_ have seen Yoh, and I've got new eyes for it today!" I answered.

"You're joking, right?" Joco asked.

"Nope! Apparently this place lets me see, like I was able to at a very young age!"

"Whoa!" Trey was impressed.

Then we all lunged forwards together. "It's all or nothing!" Len yelled.

Well…it almost worked. But like I said earlier, we seemed to be attracting everybody. Some flying robe sent his furyoku creation into Corrie, and Trey went down!

Then Len was defending Trey! Last I'd checked, Len didn't even _like _Trey!

He held out as long as he could, but then a cheap swing from the skeleton sent him flying! He hit the ground hard!

"Len!"

All of a sudden, I couldn't see anymore from tears filling my eyes, but I could sense my target clearly: the guy with the skeleton! "HOW DARE YOU HARM MY BELOVED?"

* * *

**Trey**

Aiko was flying full in that skeleton's face and slashing at its eye sockets with higher furyoku than we'd ever seen her with! All that any of us could do was watch!

"Hey, um…" Joco watched as she spun around and started attacking another guy, "did she just say 'my beloved'?"

"Yes…" Faust answered him. "She evidently made her choice about Len a long time ago." Then he walked over to Len. "Since she's keeping them busy, I must do what I can for Len."

We all followed.

Okay…Aiko didn't have them all _totally _distracted. I still had to set up an ice shield around myself, Faust and Len. But Ryo and Joco went out to help her.

* * *

**Joco**

Aiko landed briefly next to us before lunging in all over again. Her clothes were torn, and she was bleeding in several places, but she didn't even seem to notice!

They were all mocking her. "You fight so hard for him, and you call him your love? You don't even know if he cares about you! Besides, he's only going to die anyway!"

That just got her even angrier. "YOU'LL DIE FIRST, YOU BASTARD!"

I'd never heard her talk like that before. Plus, she just lunged past his ghost and attacked him directly!

* * *

**Trey**

Faust did all he could, but it wasn't enough!

"What am I missing?" he protested.

"**_LEN!_**" we heard from outside. It sounded like Aiko.

"At the rate she's going," I listened, "she's going to need a doctor, too."

All that was needed was furyoku, apparently, but right around then my shield went down and everyone crashed near us!

Aiko got to her feet – she was in terrible shape! But she just tried to lunge in again!

Faust can move quickly when he wants to: he leaped up and grabbed her shoulders.

"Let me go, you idiot!"

"Your own death won't avenge Len; you must lend me your furyoku if we're going to save him!"

Lyserg showed up all at once and blocked an attack!

* * *

**Aiko**

Tears were still in my eyes, but I could make out a white blur with green hair that everyone was calling Lyserg.

Then Lyserg chose Trey to fight next to him and defend us, while we helped Len.

Faust guided me to a sitting position next to Len, and instructed me, Joco and Ryo on what to do.

Closing my eyes and shedding tears onto my hands, I willed my furyoku into Len.

_Please, Len…return to us…return to me!_

Lyserg was in trouble, Trey wasn't going to make it –

And Len snapped his eyes open and commanded Bason to defend Lyserg! Then he lunged over, grabbed Lyserg and leaped to the top of a pillar, while the rest of us were trying to grasp the fact that he'd moved!

"It's going to take more than a fatal blow to bring _me_ down!" he yelled from his vantage point.

Ryo and Trey started jokingly yelling about how worried they were about him.

Then Len just said, more seriously than I ever heard him sound, "I know." He went on, "You all saved my life, my friends. And I thank you."

That left Trey and Ryo in shock.

"Did he – am I hearing things," Joco asked, "or did _Len_ just _thank_ us?"

"Maybe I put him back together wrong?" Faust guessed, sounding just as blankly astonished.

I stood up and laughed, looking up at him with tears still standing in my eyes. _Len…I never got to tell you…_

Then he dove off the pillar headfirst towards our enemies, still carrying Lyserg, and won against all five of them!

When he landed, we ran over to him cheering.

"Len…" I tried to clear my eyes. "You're insane, but that's what I love about you! I knew you'd pull through! I just knew it!"

"Hm! You didn't really think I'd die without telling you my decision, did you?" he retorted, passing Lyserg off to Ryo. "Fatal injuries can _really_ change perceptions."

"Huh?" I'd heard him say something like that before. And I'd defused it by accident then, but not this time. I kept myself to that one word.

He brushed a tear off my face and just looked at me for a minute. "You've really made yourself a perilous fighter."

I was going to say something. I was going to say something along the lines of, "Oh, you heard that, did you?" But I didn't get further than the first word when suddenly he kissed me – in front of everybody!

He was blushing by the time he broke off that kiss, and frankly, so was I. Everyone else was in shock again.

After that slightly embarrassing moment, Lyserg woke up.

We all forgave him, and then Len had a great line: "All right, enough! Today was _my_ day to be a sap, but I'm done now, so let's go find Yoh."

I walked over to Lyserg. "Does this mean he's not going to kiss me again?"

"What?" He stared at me in shock. "When did he do that?"

"You were unconscious." Then I smiled at him. "But I have a feeling Trey's not going to let him forget it!" Then I ran over to Len and looped my arm through his as we walked.

And, what do you know, he smiled at me!

_No, he's probably not going to kiss me in public again, but at least he made his decision about me!_

**A/N: I've decided that as long as Aiko's in the presence of the King of Spirits, her eyes work. Plus, I've been waiting the whole fanfic to have Len kiss Aiko! ^_^**


	19. Star Sanctuary, part 2

**_Star Sanctuary, part 2_**

* * *

**Aiko**

We ran, trying to catch up to Yoh. Len held onto my hand as we ran, purely out of habit from leading me around all the time.

We got to some great pillars, and there were bird-like things guarding the way, asking us to show them our souls. Len challenged them along the lines of "If you attack us, we won't show any mercy."

The guys tried fighting, but it just didn't work. At least…not at first. Then, finally, when we all struck at once with all our strength for Yoh and the King of Spirits, we were considered worthy and allowed in.

* * *

But by the time we got there…it was too late! There was only one person standing in the center, and I recognized the "hair like a girl" that I'd identified on Zeke some time back. Yoh was at his feet, and if I closed my eyes, I couldn't hear his breathing!

"YOH!" It was the most agonized I'd ever heard Anna address Yoh. I was almost not sure that it was Anna!

I was about ready to kill Zeke, or at least attempt it!

Though of course, then Zeke drew attention to the fact that my eyes were focused on him. "Why, Aiko, this is new: since when have you been able to see?"

"Not that it's any of your business," I retorted, "but the Star Sanctuary gives me sight."

Then, after Zeke knocked everyone who'd tried to attack him flat – every boy in the area except the two council members and Morty – everything stopped. Anna was moving, slowly and deliberately. She set Yoh's head back down on the ground, walked a little ways, and picked something off the ground, setting them around her neck.

_What…_ I imagined holding them in my hands. _Yoh's headphones!_

They were all attacking him, after that, with power fueled by anger. I didn't move. I couldn't; I didn't know what I could possibly do, even with my new sight.

In fact…it seemed like my having sight was interfering with my ability to fight. I tore a strip from my shirt and bound it about my eyes.

_Ah…that's better…now I feel like I'm fighting one of the Council members to qualify for the Shaman Fight._

Then I waited for Anna to give us the okay for when we could attack.

_Relying on my aura-sense when it's not working properly is not the best thing. I'll have to rely on my old methods of sound, smell and touch. They worked well enough before, and they'll do fine now._

Zeke took control of Anna's demon-things, and everyone was losing focus! Was I the only one who remembered how Yoh would fight in this? I didn't dare try to help out, because they weren't working together or being focused!

Then I heard Morty talking with Mosuke and walked over to the little guy. "I'll help you remind them."

"Aiko! …Why are you blindfolded?"

"In the Star Sanctuary, I can see. But I've gotten so used to not being able to see," I pushed the blindfold up to take a look at him (he's cute), "that it messes with my ability to fight." Pulling the blindfold back down, I finished, "Let's show them how a fight's really supposed to be waged!"

Morty made the first strike and got their attention, with me adding my own thrusts. Then Morty collapsed, probably because he hadn't been trained as a shaman so it was still tiresome for him.

Still, it got everyone else focused again on what they were supposed to be focused on, and we started winning again.

Then we defeated the demon-things, and Len started calling the shots, instructing us to buy as much time for Anna as we could.

_Who made Len second-in-command? Not that I don't think he's doing a good job…_

We managed to fly out to Zeke to stop him. I was trying to stay focused…but my thoughts weren't cooperating. I kept thinking about Yoh…and Len. Len was just as handsome as I kept picturing him in my confused dreams.

_Having sight _is_ distracting._

"You fools really want to be destroyed, don't you?" Zeke asked us, sounding irritated.

Then, we restrained him long enough for Anna to bind him! We were all ready to finish him off –

But then he broke free and knocked us all out of the air!

Anna seemed to be giving up, but Len wouldn't, and nobody else wanted to back down when Len was still standing.

I walked over to Len, taking my blindfold off. "This is going to sound cheesy, but if we're going to die fighting, then I want to be by your side."

"Thank you, Aiko. You don't know how much that means to me."

* * *

We kept trying to win…but nothing was working!

All of us just wished that Zeke would shut up. He kept saying Yoh was gone, but frankly, we disagreed; he was inside our hearts – even Len agreed with that, he was the one who said it!

After getting hit a million times over, suddenly Zeke started acting very unhappy with something. Looking back, I saw…

Yoh! Standing up!

"Guys, tell me that my eyes aren't fooling me!" I yelped.

"Your eyes aren't fooling you!"Ryo answered.

As if that wasn't enough, Yoh was willing and able to pitch in against Zeke!

I was about ready to laugh right along with Yoh. Finally we stood a chance again!

Zeke really didn't have much by way of evil wit. Probably because Yoh completely flustered him by escaping.

* * *

We…were still having difficulty, even with Yoh back. Just enough difficulty, in fact, that Zeke was going for the King of Spirits!

…And got it.

Then he was creaming all of us! Yoh just lunged back in, though.

I just kept watching, horrified, as Zeke punched Yoh down time and again.

The last time, he also sent fire after him! It didn't look like Yoh would hold out long under that heat!

We all yelled out for Yoh, cheering him on.

Suddenly, Amidamaru rose from the flames – it couldn't have been Yoh, it didn't look like him – and he was huge! He was also speaking with Yoh's voice, and I couldn't see the real Yoh anywhere. Was he inside this large Amidamaru?

Probably.

And he was giving Zeke a hard time! He was actually giving Zeke a difficult time!

Then…I didn't see what happened. Maybe I blinked, or something. But…Zeke was defeated!

Then suddenly, white light shone all around us, painful enough to force me to close my eyes!

And I heard a voice in my head. "_**If you like, Aiko, I shall permit you to always have the use of your eyes.**_"

"…_No. I have gotten far too used to surviving and thriving without them. But thank you for offering._"

* * *

When I opened my eyes again, I was greeted by sunlight…but nothing else.

Someone said we were in the desert back home, and Dobi Village had disappeared.

"Huh. Well, I wouldn't know."

"You're blind again?" Lyserg asked me.

"Yeah. The King of Spirits asked me if I wanted to keep my sight, and I said no."

"Why?" Joco asked.

"I've gotten too used to getting along without my eyes to adjust well to having them."

As we parted ways with Lyserg, Yoh asked me, "So…is there anything you'll miss about being able to see?"

"Well…not _miss_, per se…" I turned to face Len, smiling. "But I'll be seeing your eyes in my dreams for a long time, Len."

I could feel the heat on his face from where I was sitting, and Trey started teasing, "You're blushing, Len, you're blushing!"

"Shut up!" he snapped.

"What's gotten into you, Len?" Yoh teased.

"Nothing!"

"Really? 'Cause you seem kind of tense!" Joco added.

"Really, it's nothing at all!"

Finally, I intervened. "I may as well be a Tao already, guys, and the last thing anyone wants to do is make a Tao mad."

Well…they quieted down again.

Then I moved over next to Len. I knew this was probably going to set off the teasing again, what I was going to do next, but I didn't really care.

I reached up, grabbed his collar, pulled him over and kissed him – deep.

Oh, I heard the laughs from Joco, Trey and Ryo, and sensed surprise from Anna, Morty and Yoh, but I didn't pay any real mind to them.

And, after a heartbeat or two, neither did Len.

* * *

**A/N: I could have added the part where the Shaman Tournament started again, but why bother?**


End file.
